


The Magical Life of a Mortal Goddess: The Sorcerer's Stone

by Rebelgirl01



Series: The Magical Life of a Mortal Goddess [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Adoption, Child Abuse, Female Harry, Gen, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-28
Updated: 2014-11-07
Packaged: 2018-01-14 00:59:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 80,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1246774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rebelgirl01/pseuds/Rebelgirl01
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ari's life is anything except simple.  Her parents were killed when she was 1, she finds out she is a witch at 11, during her first year at a magical school she makes friends, has adventures and finds out her parents are not her birth parents and that she is a demigod.  Can her life ever be simple? Probably not, but then that would be boring.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction so constructive criticism is appreciated. My goal is to update at least once a week; however I am a college student and my grades/ studies come first. Anyways enjoy.

**Prologue**

As Poseidon crept towards his destination he stuck to the shadows as much as possible. He did not want to be caught, especially not by another Olympian. He was going to the last place anybody would ever expect him to go, the last place anyone would look for him in. He was on his way to the house of his arch-rival, Athena. He approached the door that was his destination and knocked twice. Three seconds later, an arm threw open the door and yanked him inside.

"You were not followed were you?" Athena interrogated as soon as she had re-locked the door, "I don't want anybody to know about what has occurred."

"You know, for a goddess of wisdom getting into this mess in the first place was not very smart," snapped Poseidon.

"Don't you think I realize that? Just answer the question, kelp-head, so we can get on with what needs to be done," retorted Athena.

"No, I was not followed. Amphitrite believes that I am somewhere in the Pacific Ocean solving an issue for a family of dolphins - which I do need to do soon," responded Poseidon.

"Well then. Let's get this over with," Athena sighed.

She really didn't want to do this, but it was the only option available if she and Poseidon planned on staying out of serious trouble. Never did she dream that she would make a mistake such as this. She, Athena, had broken her oath to forever be a maiden. Not only had she broken it but she had broken it with the person that she despised most on this planet. Now, a few months later, they were hiding the last traces of evidence of their crime.

She didn't remember exactly how it had happened. She and Poseidon both remember going to her house to work on some plan or another for the council, probably the one for better housing in the southern part of Olympus. Anyway, they were about an hour into their arguing… ummm… planning and on something around their 5th round of drinks when things become blurry. The next thing either of them remembered was waking up in bed together and Athena pushing a disgruntled Poseidon out the door swearing the whole while that he had better keep his big mouth shut. Unfortunately for them both, a couple days later she began exhibiting the symptoms and after a store bought test it was confirmed, Athena, goddess of wisdom, was pregnant by Poseidon.

Nine months later, nine long months of hiding, lying, and avoiding, their daughter had made her appearance. They named her Ari. She was the first full goddess born in centuries and her birth should have led to an enormous celebration. Instead, her parents were trying to figure out how to keep her a secret. After many long hours of arguing, they had agreed on a plan.

Both knew of Hecate's blessed ones who had formed their own sort of society. The gods were not allowed to interfere in it because it was Hecate's "pet project." Their daughter would be safe among these people and would not be found by their family.

"When is Hecate going to arrive here?" Poseidon asked for the twelfth time.

"She will arrive here when she does and if you ask again I am going to gut you like the fish you are!" Athena snapped in response.

They both wanted to get the painful part over. Even if neither would admit it, they had come to love the little girl in the three days they'd spent with her since her birth. Suddenly, there was a bright light and Hecate, goddess of magic, stood in the library of Athena.

"What is it that you have summoned me for?" inquired Hecate.

"We need your assistance with a problem," informed Athena.

"What problem would that be? I can't help you if I don't know what it is that I am helping with," pushed Hecate. To be honest, she already had a feeling about what had happened. Most of the minor gods and goddesses did. While the two had succeeded in avoiding the Olympians, they hadn't put as much of an effort into avoiding the minors.

"Well you see…" Poseidon began telling their story with Athena inputting details that Poseidon forgot or neglected to bring up.

"I see. Well, I can help you, and I know of just the family that little Ari can stay with. The wife just found out that she is incapable of having kids, and they are looking to adopt. However, be warned - for about the past ten years there has been chaos among my people. I am hoping that they will resolve it soon on their own, but if not, I will intervene," Hecate warned the two Olympians.

"Are you sure it will end soon?" questioned Poseidon. He didn't want to send his daughter into unknown danger. If it was between that and his family, he would risk his family finding out. Unknown to him, Athena was thinking along the same lines.

"The issue is being taken care of. Now, where is the little one?" Hecate assured the parents with a small smile.

"She is in my room asleep. It is after all after 11 at night," replied Athena.

"Let's get this done. Athena, go get her. The sooner this is over the better," Poseidon directed. If he was honest with himself, he just didn't want to have to hold off goodbye any longer than possible.

Athena left the room and came back a minute later with a baby girl bundled in a soft pink blanket. She lifted the corner of the blanket to reveal a rosy cheeked baby with black hair and stormy grey eyes.

"You two created a wonderful child. This is your last chance: are you sure you want to give her up?" questioned Hecate.

"To be honest, I would love nothing more than to raise her as she should be. However, we have both agreed to this. Now is not the time for a secret this big to be revealed," responded Poseidon with deep sadness in his eyes.

"Very well. Your daughter is a full goddess and that is her birthright. I will dampen her powers so that she is no more powerful than a strong demigod. By doing this, she will fall under the rules of no interference. Little Ari will need to grow up as a normal demigod. She will have to discover for herself who you are. Her powers will, however, be released upon her 18th birthday. You had better confront her by then or there will be serious issues," Hecate warned them.

Checking to make sure that they understood her warning, she grabbed Ari, covered her eyes and flashed to the home of the couple that would become Ari's adoptive parents. She arrived at the cottage in Godric's Hollow and walked swiftly towards the door. Hecate made sure on her way to the door that she was properly disguised. She knocked on the door and was answered a few seconds later.

"Yes, how can I help you?" A woman with long red hair and bright green eyes asked.

"Yes, I am from the hospital and have come to inform you that a child was left at the hospital after the parents decided that they could not take care of it. You left your name to be considered, and we were wondering if you would like to care for the little girl."

"Oh! Come in. James, get in here now!" the woman called in eagerness, her eyes brightening up considerably.

"What Lily-flower? Has Padfoot come with news from the Order?" James questioned as he entered the room.

"No. Apparently a couple put their little girl up for adoption and we have been chosen to take her in. Isn't this exciting?!" Lily exclaimed. "Can I hold her?"

Hecate handed Ari to Lily and leaned back on the couch waiting for the questions that were sure to come.

"Is this true… ummm?" James inquired realizing he doesn't know the lady's name.

"Sorry my name is Melanie. I work at the hospital. This little angel's name is Ari," responded Hecate.

"Well, thank you very much for choosing us. We were devastated when we discovered that Lily was unable to have kids. That is why we signed up at the hospital," James thanked.

"Does this mean that you will adopt her?" Hecate asked, despite already knowing the answer.

"Of course, when do we fill out the paperwork?" asked Lily holding Ari and already falling in love with the little girl in her arms.

"There is no reason to worry about that. It has all already been taken care of," Hecate smirked. It was one of the perks of being a goddess, she could make documents that never existed before appear out of nowhere completely signed and authenticated.

"Well then, thank you again. We promise to take care of her," James said, with Lily nodding in the background.

With that, James showed Hecate to the door, and Hecate flashed herself, once she was around the corner, back to her house on Mt. Olympus. She knew that this would not end without minor tragedies, but she hoped it would all work out in little Ari's favour. Little did Hecate know that in just over a year, little Ari Potter would lose her new family to a mad man who was trying to take over the wizarding world. She would be taken by an aged wizard to her aunt and uncle's to be raised. Her childhood would not be peaceful or cheerful, but it would definitely be eventful.

**xXx**


	2. Chapter 1

**AN: I do NOT own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson and all related Characters. That wonderful right goes to J. K. Rowling and Rick Riordan respectively. Besides if I did I would not be having problems with student loans.**

**Beta’d by Lady of Something**

**xXx**

**Chapter 1**

It was 11 years after the night that Hecate took Ari from Athena and Poseidon and a little under 10 years since she was left on the doorstep of her aunt and uncle. Ari Potter knew nothing of who she was and was ignorant of both her birth or adoptive parents. At this point in time, she was asleep but that would not last long. At that moment, Aunt Petunia approached her door and pounded on it.

"Get up now! It's Dudley's birthday, and I want everything to be perfect!" Aunt Petunia screeched at the top of her lungs.

Ari's eyes snapped open, knowing what the consequences would be if she did not get up. As she rolled over to grab her spider covered socks, she made sure to be careful of her bruised ribs. Her uncle had given her one of his "lessons" last night, and she was still extremely tender. This one had been about how she should not act like a freak, and it was one of Uncle Vernon's favorites. As she stood up, she hit her head on the low ceiling. Honestly - her room was too small for her; however, what does one expect when that room is a cupboard under the stairs?

There were a total of four rooms in the cookie cutter house in Surrey. The master bedroom - which belonged to her aunt and uncle, the guest room - which was most often frequented by Aunt Marge, and two bedrooms that belonged to her cousin Dudley. She never understood why Dudley needed two rooms, but he said he did so he was given them.

Ari quickly finished getting ready so not to incur the wrath of either her aunt or her uncle. She then made her way to the kitchen where the table was already buried under approximately 36 presents. She knew there were at least that many because Dudley never received less than 30. She made her way over to the stove and began cooking the breakfast that she would not receive any of.

"You better not burn a single piece of bacon. I want everything to be perfect for Dudley's special day and you will not ruin it," ordered Aunt Petunia while she ran around trying to organize the presents.

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," muttered Ari. Honestly, it was the same every year so she learned not to expect anything different. In a few hours, the Dursleys would be on their way to the zoo, and she would be at Mrs. Figg's.

Mrs. Figg was the crazy cat woman of the neighborhood. Whenever the Dursleys went anywhere that even hinted at fun Ari was left with her. While there, Ari was forced to look at about five albums filled with pictures of every cat Mrs. Figg had ever owned. Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty were her favorites. Mrs. Figg creeped Ari out. Sometimes, she would be going on and on about all of her cats. Other times, she would look at Ari like she knew some huge secret that Ari should want to know. One time, Ari had asked Mrs. Figg why she looked at her like that.

Mrs. Figg only responded by saying, "You will find out soon enough child." Then she went back to cooing over her cats.

At that moment, Uncle Vernon and Dudley stormed into the room. At first glance, one would think Ari was raised by animals. Aunt Petunia resembled something between a horse and a giraffe with her facial features and long neck. Uncle Vernon had a mustache that resembled the whiskers of a walrus and the weight to compete with one. Dudley looked like a pig in a blonde wig, contrary to what Aunt Petunia insisted.

Dudley began opening his presents just as Ari served up breakfast, being careful not to spill anything. He had already ripped into a sling shot, a video camera, a plasma screen TV with a Blu-ray player and a remote controlled car when he made a comment that Ari knew would come eventually.

"There are fewer here than there were last year," Dudley complained while opening a box that contained around 30 new movies.

"Yes, but some of them are bigger than last year," Aunt Petunia responded, trying to delay the tantrum. Ari just wished that Aunt Petunia had not even bothered. Most of the time, she just made it worse.

"I DON'T CARE HOW BIG THEY ARE! IT IS STILL LESS THAN LAST YEAR!" Dudley screamed at the top of his lungs.

"You still have to receive your presents from Piers, and then you get the traditional three presents on your birthday trip," appeased Aunt Petunia.

"Oh yeah! I forgot about those," Dudley answered as he went back to ripping into his presents.

The phone rang, and Aunt Petunia went to go and answer it. When she came back she gave Ari a look that said, "this is all your fault."

"The girl has done it again Vernon. Mrs. Figg can't take her. Something about having a meeting with a headmaster of some school that her nephew is going to in Scotland. So, what are we going to do?" complained Aunt Petunia.

"We could call Marge," offered Vernon. Ari cringed. Aunt Marge was just as bad as Uncle Vernon when it came to "lessons."

"Nonsense, Vernon, you know that it is that time of year that she hates to leave her precious dogs," responded Petunia. Ari, for once, was grateful to her aunt.

"What about locking her in the basement? Nobody will know. It will keep her out of the way and prevent the house from being blown up… again," Uncle Vernon questioned with a gleam in his eyes that Ari knew meant trouble.

Ari remembered the last time that she had been left in the basement. It had been last Christmas. The Dursleys had gone to France and left her in the basement with a few rations of food. Her uncle had wanted to make sure that she didn't revert back to her "freakish ways" while he was gone, so, he had chained her left ankle to the wall. It gave her enough length to reach the basement toilet and the rations, but not enough that she could get up the stairs and get out. He then gave her a quick lesson and left.

Their one week trip had turned into one month, and Ari ran out of food. Being chained to the wall, she did the only thing she could do, she screamed for help. She didn't remember how it happened, but one moment she was screaming for help and the next her chain had broken and the door to the basement exploded open. Of course, the Dursleys arrived home ten minutes later.

"We can't, Vernon. The neighbors still swear they heard screams from the last time. We could leave her in the car," Aunt Petunia suggested.

"NO, NO, NO! She will not be staying in my new car," Uncle Vernon put down immediately.

"You could just leave me home. I won't blow up the house and would stay in my room," Ari offered hesitantly.

"And come home to find all the valuables missing and the house in ruins? I think not," snarled Uncle Vernon, "We will just have to take the freak with us."

The decision came not a moment too soon because at that moment the doorbell rang and standing on the threshold was Piers Polkiss, Dudley's best friend. Dudley was the leader of the local boys' gang. Piers was the one who would hold people while Dudley punched, kicked and otherwise beat the living daylights out of them. On several occasions, Piers had tried to kiss Ari when Dudley was done. While Ari was the gang's favorite target, they often could not catch her.

She was extremely skinny and small for her age. She had long black hair and stormy grey eyes. Overall, in her own opinion she looked pretty, if not normal. The only unique thing about her was the scar upon her forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt. She had one time asked where it came from and Aunt Petunia had told her it came from the car crash her parents died in and not to ask questions.

Not asking questions was one of the ten rules to having a semi-peaceful life in the Dursley house. Among the others were do chores on time, don't speak or be seen unless called upon, don't do better than Dudley in school and don't make a sound during Uncle Vernon's "lessons."

Soon after Piers arrived, they all loaded into the car to go to the zoo and the new aquarium opening. Before she loaded into her seat in the back of the car, Uncle Vernon pulled her aside.

"Now, I don't want any funny business from you today, girl. If any of your freakishness happens today, you will be in your cupboard from now until New Years, no meals for a week and I will have to schedule another two or three lessons this week," Uncle Vernon threatened in a low whisper so that only Ari could hear.

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," Ari answered as meekly as possible. She really didn't want another lesson. The bad thing was weird things just happened around her.

One time, while she was cooking dinner she had tripped on her way to the table. This of course had to happen on the night of one of Uncle Vernon's big business dinners. Anyway, she tripped, and the food went flying through the air. Just as it was about to hit the floor, the food froze, mid-air. Ari quickly gathered up the food and place it back on the plates. Unfortunately the damage was already done. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had been coming in to order her to hurry up and had seen the entire incident. After their guests had left, Uncle Vernon had taken Ari down to the basement and given her a lesson. She had ended up with three cracked ribs, a busted lip, and innumerable scars upon her back. She was also grounded for a week, though she was still given meager meals.

Another time, Aunt Petunia had given her a brown dress with orange puff balls. As Aunt Petunia tried to shove the dress over Ari's head, it shrunk. Believing that it must have shrunk in the wash, Ari was not punished. Aunt Petunia instead gave her a dress that was white with lavender ribbons. Aunt Petunia even admitted herself that she did not like that brown dress but there was no point in wasting clothing.

Aunt Petunia believed that Ari should dress like a girl but that she was not worth the money to go and buy new clothes. So at the beginning of every season, Aunt Petunia would go through her wardrobe and find what she didn't want anymore, didn't wear anymore, or didn't fit into anymore and it would go to Ari. Doing this, Ari was spared Dudley's hand-me-downs.

While she was spared that time, she was punished thoroughly for causing Dudley to go flying. She had been running from his gang, and they were actually going to catch her. Dudley went to grab her, she screamed and he went flying. There was no talking herself out of that one. Not even Ari could come with an excuse for what happened.

In any case, she was determined that nothing would happen on this trip. They were on their way to the zoo and Uncle Vernon was ranting about all the things he hated: Ari, people at work, Ari, the bank, Ari, the government, Ari, motorcycles, Ari, Mr. or Mrs. Such and such, and Ari. On this particular trips it was fantasy creatures.

"Absolute nonsense that has no business in the minds of normal people. I mean come on pixie dust, magic, flying horses, giants, and leprechauns," Uncle Vernon ranted.

"I had a dream the other day about 10 foot tall people. They were arguing about something," Ari stated trying to be normal for her uncle.

"GIANTS DON'T EXIST!" roared Uncle Vernon as he turned around to yell at Ari, the car swerving around in its lane.

"I know they don't, and I never said that they did. It was just a dream," muttered Ari who wished she had just stayed quiet.

It was Saturday so, of course, the zoo was packed. Not to mention it was also the grand opening of the aquarium exhibit. They stopped at the entrance for Uncle Vernon to buy Piers and Dudley some large chocolate ice creams with nuts, whipped cream, and hot fudge sauce. Because he could not pull her away before the lady asked, he also bought Ari a cheap lemon ice pop. Ari loved it.

They went to see the warthogs which Ari thought looked like Dudley. The only thing Dudley was missing was a pig's tail. They went to the bird house where the owls, who the guide said were probably asleep, all flocked down to see Ari. It was an open house so the birds could fly around. The guide was puzzled as to the strange behavior of the owls. They would not leave her until she looked at them when she reached the exit and told them to stay. Miraculously, they flew back to their branches and remained there.

They went to the new aquarium exhibit, and Ari could have sworn she was hearing voices. Whether it was by the sharks, the tropical fish or the creatures found in the deepest part of the oceans she kept hearing voices, and they all said a variation of the same thing.

_"The Princess is here!"_

_"Hi, sea princess."_

_"Oh, I hope she likes us."_

_"What is she doing with gorilla-man, walrus-man, and horseface?"_

Every time, she would look around expecting to see some rich, finely dressed princess enter the room; every time there was nobody except normal everyday people and herself. She eventually gave up trying to figure out where the voices were coming from. All in all the day was going fine and Ari was having a wonderful time. She should have known that it would not last.

Their final stop of the day was at the reptile house. It was not the last stop by choice, they had still planned on going to see the dolphin show and of course there was still the wild cat exhibit. They entered the reptile house, and almost immediately, Dudley and Piers ran up to the largest snake in the room. The snake was asleep, but that didn't stop Dudley from making a nuisance of himself. He began pounding on the glass.

"Make him move! I want to see him kill something," Dudley ordered Uncle Vernon while giving Ari a meaningful look.

Uncle Vernon rapped on the glass. Nothing happened.

"Do it again!" ordered Dudley again.

Uncle Vernon repeated his action.

"Do it…" Dudley began

"He's asleep!" Ari snapped. People were starting to stare.

"He's boring," complained Dudley, and he and Piers wandered off to see something else.

Ari took a look at the snake and muttered, "Sorry about him. He doesn't know what it feels like to be trapped in a cage. Having people order you around like you have nothing to do in your life except what they say."

The snake nodded his head like he understood. Ari smiled believing she had found a kindred spirit.

"At least you can understand me," whispered Ari. She didn't want to get caught doing something freakish. The snake nodded, and Ari could have sworn it smiled.

"My name is Ari. So how long have you been here for?" Ari questioned.

The snake pointed its tail to the sign next to the enclosure.

"Oh, that's me too. I have never known anything except captivity either," Ari admitted.

"MOM, DAD YOU GOT TO COME SEE WHAT THE SNAKE IS DOING!" shouted Dudley, "Move you!"

Ari didn't see him coming. He pushed her to the concrete floor. She was pretty sure her bruised ribs were now at least cracked. Ari wasn't sure what happened next - all she knew was that she felt her anger bubble up inside her and then felt it release itself. Dudley and Piers, who were leaning against the glass, fell into the enclosure. The snake snapped at them as he slithered his way past the vanished glass.

_"Thank you Ari! Freedom, here I come!"_

"No problem," Ari responded.

Unfortunately, it would be a problem. Once they were released from the enclosure, Dudley and Piers coming up with stories about what had happened. By the time they returned to Privet Drive, the snake had apparently tried to eat them. Then Piers said something that was going to create many issues for Ari in the future.

"Ari was talking to it. Weren't you, Ari?" inquired Piers, who didn't know the damage he had just caused.

After Piers had left, Uncle Vernon rounded on Ari. He grabbed her by the shoulder dragged her to her cupboard and threw her in.

"I warned you, girl. You are not coming out for a month and no meals for a week," Uncle Vernon sentenced her, "I will be back later to give you your first extra lesson."

With that said, Ari was left in the darkness alone.  While waiting for her uncle, she thought about the snake and how she had understood it. She then thought back to the aquarium and realized with a start that the voices had been the fish themselves. Great! She really was a freak.

It was around 10 when Uncle Vernon came back and dragged her to the basement for her lesson. Around 11:30, she was locked back in her cupboard with even more bruises. She listened carefully for her uncle's footsteps to go up the stairs. Once he was up there, he wouldn't come back down until morning. She would then sneak out to get a bit of food, water and some bandages.

This was the life that Ari had grown accustomed to. She had long since given up hope that somebody would come a rescue her. There was no long lost relative that would discover her and make the Dursleys pay for what they had done to her. While she did meet the occasional person on the street who seemed to know her, nothing ever came of these encounters and the people always vanished before she could get a closer look. No, Ari was always on her own and nobody seemed to care.

She finally heard Uncle Vernon's footsteps thundering up the stairs, raining down spiders upon her head. She listened for a moment to make sure that he wasn't coming back down. Then, she quietly grabbed her wire hanger, stuck it out the grate on the door and pulled back the lock. She crept her way to the kitchen, making sure not to run into any chairs, tables, or other pieces of furniture. She made her way to the fridge and took out one piece of cheese, and an apple. Ari then went to the bread box and added a slice of bread from the middle of the loaf to her bounty. Finally, she snuck over to the first aid cabinet and grabbed some of the older bandages in the back. She had a feeling that Aunt Petunia knew she snuck out and kept these here just for her. While her aunt held no love for her, she also did not believe in Ari bleeding all over her clean floor. She didn't want the neighbors to spread rumors. So, the old bandages were left in the back of the cabinet. Ari then snuck back to her cupboard with her bounty, re-locked the door with the wire hanger and began eating and treating the wounds she could reach. Oh well, she thought, it was only for the next month, unless she got into more trouble. Which was almost certainly inevitable.

**xXx**

 

 

            


	3. Chapter 2

**Beta’d by Lady of Something**

**xXx**

**Chapter 2**

The punishment that Ari endured after the zoo incident was by far the harshest one yet in her almost ten years with the Dursleys. By the time that Uncle Vernon believed that she had earned her freedom, summer break was well under way and Ari had a week left before she turned eleven. She didn't expect much - she had learned long ago not to make a big deal about her birthday.

She woke up on the 23rd of July basking in the feeling that was freedom. She walked into the kitchen and began to prepare breakfast for the Dursleys. Eggs, bacon, toast, tea, coffee, jam and a bowl of fruit were the traditional choices in this household. Ari knew better than to diverge from the norm unless told otherwise to.

She was just turning off the stove and serving the bacon when the Dursleys made their way into the kitchen. Ari finished placing the food on the table silently and then stood off to the side. If she was quiet and did as she told, she might receive breakfast this morning. Breakfast was going normally with the normal conversations about everyday things for a normal family when the mail arrived.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Go get the mail, girl," ordered Uncle Vernon.

"Yes, sir," Ari replied. She was still hoping to receive a breakfast, no matter how small.

Ari arrived at the door and scooped up the mail. She quickly shuffled through it to see what there was. There was an acceptance letter for Dudley to Uncle Vernon's alma mater, Smeltings. There was also a letter from Aunt Marge to Uncle Vernon.

'Hopefully she isn't coming to visit us,' hoped Ari - though it was more like begging.

There were then two more letters in the pile. One was addressed to Aunt Petunia from the neighborhood council and the final one was addressed to Ari. Ari stared at the address, hardly daring to believe her eyes. But, there it was in scarlet red ink:

**Miss A. Potter**

**The Cupboard under the Stairs**

**4 Privet Drive**

**Little Whinging**

**Surrey**

Thinking quickly, Ari shoved the letter into the back pocket of the old jeans she was wearing. She knew that if she was caught with the letter, she would not be allowed to keep it - let alone read it. Ari gathered up the rest of the letters and made her way back into the kitchen. She placed the mail in front of Uncle Vernon and went back to her corner of the kitchen.

"Well now, what do have we here? Dudley, this one is for you, my boy. Well, hurry up and tell us what it says," Uncle Vernon urged with a huge grin on his face.

Dudley quickly opened his letter, tried to read the first line, and handed the letter to his father.

"Congratulations, my boy. You are going to my old school starting in the fall. Petunia, it is time to go shopping for uniforms for Dudley - and while we are at it, we need to dye some of your old things for her," Uncle Vernon declared.

"Yes, Vernon. I am so happy my little Dudleykins is going to one of the best private schools possible," Aunt Petunia said, tearing up.

"Well, girl, you have done well enough. Grab a piece of bread and get out," ordered Uncle Vernon.

"Yes, sir," Ari answered. She practically ran to the bread box, and she was on her way out the door when Dudley decided to have one of his few observant moments.

"Dad, Ari has something in her pocket," Dudley tattled while smirking at the horror stuck look on Ari's face.

"Bring it here, girl! Now!" Uncle Vernon bellowed.

Ari knew better than to argue and handed Uncle Vernon the letter. Uncle Vernon took a look at the address and then the seal on the back. His face changed colors faster than Ari had ever seen - it went from its normal blotchy pink to red, then purple, then green, then grey and finally a white.

'Oh great, now I've done it,' Ari thought.

"I want you both out of here - now," Uncle Vernon declared.

"But I'm not done eating," whined Dudley.

"Take it upstairs. Just get out," Uncle Vernon ordered, starting to turn purple.

"Can I have my letter first?" Ari questioned and then immediately regretted.

Uncle Vernon grabbed both Ari and Dudley by the backs of their shirts and threw them into the hallway. Dudley made his way upstairs with his plate of food while Ari decided to eavesdrop at the door.

"What do we do, Vernon? How do they know where the girl is sleeping?" questioned Petunia.

"They are most likely watching the house. You know all those weird people the girl keeps running into. She has most likely lied to one of them about how we treat her," declared Uncle Vernon.

"Most likely, but what are we going to do?" repeated Petunia.

"We ignore the letters. If they get no reply, they will eventually give up," replied Uncle Vernon.

"Do you honestly think that will work?" Aunt Petunia questioned.

"It had better. I will not stand to have one of _them_ in my house. We swore when we took her in that we would stamp all of that nonsense out of her. That we would make her into a normal model citizen, and I plan on doing just that. I mean you saw the effect that my last lesson had on her. The girl has finally learned not to question me," Uncle Vernon responded.

Ari listened for a few more minutes and then crept her way to her cupboard. She thought about what she had heard. He uncle and aunt were keeping secrets from her. Apparently, she was supposed to grow up into something that they did not like. More than likely it had something to do with her parents.

She could not really think of anything that her aunt and uncle hated - except herself of course. The only thing that they had really been strict about as she grew up was that Dudley was to always come first in everything and there was to be absolutely no mention of anything even remotely resembling magic. Magic was not real. That was among the first things she had been given a lesson about.

That evening, Uncle Vernon visited Ari in her cupboard for the first time since her last lesson. At first, she was wondering what she had done but then Uncle Vernon broke her from her thoughts.

"Your Aunt and I have noticed that you have become a bit too big for the cupboard. You are to move your stuff to Dudley's second room. Now!" Uncle Vernon ordered her.

"Why the sudden change?" Ari questioned. It wasn't like they had ever done anything that nice for her before.

"Because I said so. And, don't ask questions!" Uncle Vernon snapped.

"More like it has to do with that letter and the way that it was addressed to me," muttered Ari.

It took only one trip for Ari to move her stuff upstairs. She then promptly began to pick up all the broken toys and toss them into the boxes along one wall. Dudley's junk might still be in this room but that did not mean that she had to be tripping on it. She made sure to get rid of the spiders and spider webs that were manifesting in the corners of the room. When she was in the cupboard, spiders where something that she had to deal with. While she had got used to them, that did not mean that she in any way like them. There had just been no use complaining or freaking out because she would have got into trouble. However, now that she was in an actual room, she wasn't putting up with any of those 8 legged creepy crawlies. After living with Dudley for almost ten years she had somewhat of a cleaning fetish. While she was not as obsessed as Aunt Petunia, she still believed that everything should have its proper place.

Ari came to a stack of books that were the only items in the room not damaged and decided to keep them on the shelf near her bed. The books included classics such as _Oliver Twist_ , _Tale of Two Cities_ and _Beowulf_ as well as more fantasy stories such as _the Lord of the Rings_ and _the Chronicles of Narnia_. All in all, while she was happy to have an actual room, she still wanted to have that letter.

Ari spent the rest of her day switching between doing chores for the Dursleys and tidying her bedroom. Dinner that night was roast beef, mashed potatoes and green beans. Of course, Ari's dinner was two plain pieces of toast and one slice of moldy cheese. After doing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen up to Aunt Petunia's standards, she returned to her room ready to crash on the lumpy mattress.

It was about 2 in the morning when Ari heard an incessant knocking at her window. Wait a minute - she was on the second floor! How was that possible? Now wide awake, Ari climbed out of bed and crept over to the window, making sure not to make the floorboards creak. She pulled back the curtains just as the knocking started up again. She could not believe what she saw. There, at the window, was probably the most beautiful creature that she had ever seen.

Staring back at Ari with determined amber eyes was a snowy owl. Clutched in the owl's talons were two letters. Ari quickly let the owl inside and once the window was open wide enough, it swooped in and landed majestically and gracefully on the footboard of the bed. Ari quickly walked over and retrieved the letters. There were two letters as she had noted before; however, they seemed to be from two different people. The first letter was one that was similar to this morning's, and it was addressed to:

**Miss A. Potter**

**The Smallest Bedroom**

**4 Privet Drive**

**Little Whinging**

**Surrey**

"Well," Ari thought as she stared at the letter. "I am most definitely not letting Uncle Vernon get this one."

_"I would open the other one first m'lady."_

"Woah, who said that?" Ari looked around for the source of the voice but could find none.

_"I did but that is not important. You need to read both those letters. However, read the unofficial one first."_

Ari looked over at the owl and then a thought popped into her head.

"Are you the one that is talking to me?" Ari questioned, but she had a feeling she already knew the answer.

_"Yes, m'lady"_

"Ok, it's the snake all over again," muttered Ari. She was beginning to wonder why it was that she seemed to be able to talk to almost all of the animals that she ran into. However, she decided to take the owl's advice first and ask questions later.

With that, she quickly took a look at the second letter. The hand-writing on this one was different, almost as though it was a personal letter. There was no address on this one - just her name written in scrawly handwriting.

Ari decided that she should probably listen to the voice and open this one first and it turns out that it was the correct decision.

**Miss Potter,**

**You will be ready to be picked up at precisely nine a.m. on July 31st. Due to the fact that you seem incompetent enough to have not responded to your first letter, I have taken the liberty of mailing you a duplicate. Do not lose it. I will not send a third. Now, read over this letter and its contents carefully, and I will pick you up at the above mentioned time. I will answer any questions you have that I deem necessary to answer at that time, and we will retrieve your supplies.**

**Professor S. Snape**

There was one more line, but the handwriting was different: more elegant and smooth than the first style.

_**PS. You may keep the owl but be careful; she bites.** _

"Well, that's straightforward enough," whispered Ari as she began to open the letter that was identical to the one from this morning. "Question is though, who's Professor Snape and what does he mean by 'we will retrieve your supplies?' What do I need supplies for?"

_"He is an angry man that can't seem to be polite to anybody that he meets. I only nibbled on his finger a couple of times to get him to hurry up. He has a horrible disposition."_

"Oh, thank you," said Ari, slightly amused.

Ari opened the second letter and was surprised, to say the least, at what she saw.

**Dear Miss Potter,** the letter read,

**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find the enclosed list of all necessary books and equipment.**

**The term starts on September 1 and the train leaves promptly at 11 from platform 9 3/4. Do be on time.**

**Yours Sincerely,**

**Professor M. McGonagall**

**Deputy Headmistress**

"What on earth! This can't be serious. There is no way that I am a witch. But then again, this does fit with what Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were discussing earlier. If they thought magic was real and that I had it, then, that would explain what they were talking about stomping out of me," Ari rationalised.

After thinking that way, Ari began to see that maybe this letter wasn't so far-fetched after all. It would explain all the weird stuff that had happened around her that she could never explain before. All she knew was that she would have to wait until the end of the week for this 'Professor Snape' to arrive. Hopefully, he would deem it "necessary" to answer some of her questions. For now she was going to go to bed. Giving the owl, that was apparently now hers, one last look she dozed off for the night.

_"Good night, little mistress."_

**xXx**


	4. Chapter 3

**Beta’d by Lady of Something**

**xXx**

**Chapter 3**

"Girl! You had better be dressed and down stairs in 5 minutes or else you will not like the consequences," Uncle Vernon bellowed from downstairs.

The sound of her uncle's voice had Ari leaping from bed and running around trying to find her clothes. She still couldn't believe what had happened last night. And if it had not been for the beautiful owl staring at her from her desk, she would have thought it all a dream.

"Morning, little one," Ari stated, giving a big yawn.

_"Good morning, m'lady."_

"Do you know why I can understand you?" Ari asked.

_"No, m'lady. Is that man always that loud, m'lady?"_

"Unfortunately, yes. Please try to be quiet. If my uncle, aunt, or cousin were to hear you, they would make me get rid of you - or worse," Ari warned in a whisper. All of a sudden, there was a pounding on Ari's door.

"Get out here, now!" Uncle Vernon ordered.

"I'm still changing, and it hasn't been five minutes yet," Ari responded, but realized instantly that it was the wrong thing to say.

"That's it! You don't back talk me," Uncle Vernon yelled as he tried to open the door.

'Good thing I locked it last night,' Ari thought as she looked around quickly for a place to hide her new owl.

_"M'lady, you might want to think of something."_

"I'm thinking, give me a second," Ari stated beginning to panic.

_"No offense meant, m'lady, but think faster."_

"First of all, it's Ari. Second of all, come here quickly," Ari stated suddenly having an idea.

_"Yes, m'lady."_

"It's Ari. Now, come here," reminded Ari.

As soon as the owl landed gently on her arm, Ari ran over to the wardrobe and placed the owl inside. It didn't happen a moment too soon, because Uncle Vernon finally got the door open with the master key.

"Morning, Uncle Vernon," stated Ari as she made a show of pulling on a sock.

"Downstairs, now! Some of us have places to go today," Uncle Vernon ordered as he grabbed her and pushed her out of the bedroom.

Meanwhile, Ari's owl made herself comfortable on the pile of blankets and old sweaters and fell asleep thinking that at least she was comfortable.

Downstairs, Ari was preparing breakfast for the Dursleys when the mail arrived.

"Go get the mail, Dudley," Uncle Vernon ordered.

"I don't want to. Make Ari get it," Dudley whined.

"No, you go get it," Uncle Vernon ordered his son.

"Whatever," muttered Dudley as he went to get the mail.

Two minutes later, Dudley walked back in, handed the mail to his father and continued eating.

"Well, it appears that I was correct. That letter was addressed to you by mistake because there is not another one here," gloated Uncle Vernon.

"Of course, Uncle Vernon," Ari replied meekly while thinking, 'That's what you think.'

The rest of the day went calmly - as far as days at the Dursley house are concerned. Uncle Vernon was in such a good mood due to the lack of letters that he actually let Ari eat all three meals with the family. Of course, her portions were still far too small.

After doing the dishes, dusting the house, cleaning the windows, mowing the lawn, pruning the bushes and trees and making lunch, Ari was permitted to go upstairs until it was time to make dinner. Ari walked over to the wardrobe to find her new friend fast asleep in a makeshift nest.

"Hey, little one, it's time to get up. You can come out of the closet now," Ari stated in calm voice as she gently shook the owl.

_"Hello, m'lady. Are you back for the day?"_

"No, I still have to make dinner and do those dishes. Sorry for shoving you in the wardrobe, it was the only place I could think of," Ari apologized.

_"It's ok, m'lady. It was actually quite comfortable."_

"So, do you have a name?" Ari asked realizing she still didn't know what to call the owl.

_"Not until you give me one."_

"Well then, I will have to come up with one shortly," responded Ari.

With that, Ari decided to grab one of the books off the shelf. A few hours and half of _Les Miserable_ later, Ari heard Uncle Vernon's car pull up the driveway and decided it was time to go prepare dinner.

"I'll be back later," Ari stated as she moved over to the window. "While I'm gone, why don't you go find some food?"

_"Thank you, m'lady. I will be back when I see your light turn off."_

With that the owl flew off and Ari prepared a delicious meal of chicken enchiladas and Spanish rice. She was just finishing the dishes when her uncle decided that he wanted to have a word with her.

"Your aunt says you need to get your uniform off the clothes line before it gets ruined. Also, in your spare time, go through Dudley's old school supplies and grab what you need," Uncle Vernon stated.

"Yes, sir," Ari answered.

"You are to stay in here the remainder of the night, and I don't want to hear a sound," Uncle Vernon continued.

"Yes, sir. Anything else?" Ari responded.

Without answering her, Uncle Vernon turned around and left the room. Once she was sure he had made it to the bottom of the stairs, she turned off her lights. Seconds later, the owl came in through the window.

"How was your hunt?" Ari asked the little owl.

_"Good. For a polished neighborhood, they sure have a lot of mice."_

Ari laughed at this, thinking how that statement would freak out her aunt. It was a very funny image.

"Where do you want to sleep?" Ari asked.

_"Can I sleep in the box you put me in earlier?"_

"You found the wardrobe comfortable?" Ari questioned to see if she heard correctly.

_"Yes, m'lady."_

"Sure, if you want to," Ari answered, and she opened the wardrobe for the owl.

With that, both of them went to sleep for the night. The rest of the week went pretty much the same way. Ari received small meager meals, because Uncle Vernon was happy that no more letters had arrived there were no more 'lessons' and she was permitted to remain in the smallest bedroom.

The morning of July 31st arrived quickly and Ari was officially 11. She woke up at seven to make sure she had all her chores done before Professor Snape arrived. Her relatives still did not know about his impending arrival, and she was nervous about what their reaction would be.

Ari crept downstairs and began to prepare the breakfast that was served every day in the Dursley house; fried eggs, toast with jam, orange juice, coffee or tea, bacon, and hash browns. She was in the process of setting the table when the first sounds of the Dursleys stirring reached her. About five minutes later, Aunt Petunia arrived - she was always the first to awake. Aunt Petunia looked around and was surprised to see that not only did she not have to wake Ari up, but she also didn't have to get Ari to hurry up making breakfast.

"Good morning, Aunt Petunia. Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes," greeted Ari.

Aunt Petunia merely nodded and sat down at her seat. Ari poured her Aunt a cup of tea before making sure that the sugar and cream were on the table. The next Dursley to arrive was Uncle Vernon, and he just walked in and sat down.

"Get my coffee, girl," Uncle Vernon ordered.

"Yes, sir," Ari responded as she placed a cup of coffee in front of her uncle.

"Good to see that you are finally learning your responsibilities. It looks like the lessons are paying off finally. Of course, they will still have to continue to make sure that they stick permanently," Uncle Vernon commented casually while watching his niece tend to the food.

Dudley came down the stairs just as Ari was placing the final plate on the table.

"Good morning, my little Duddy-kins. Do you have any plans today?" Aunt Petunia gushed at her son.

"Yeah. Going over to Piers'. He got the new video game," Dudley responded as he attempted to drown his toast in strawberry jam.

"What about you, Vernon?" Aunt Petunia questioned.

"We are expecting a big order of drills today from America. So I might be home a bit late," Uncle Vernon responded.

"Ari, your list of chores is on the counter for when you are done with the dishes," reminded Aunt Petunia.

"Actually Aunt Petunia, I have plans today," Ari stated cautiously as she began to inch towards the door.

"What plans? With whom?" Aunt Petunia questioned noticing that Uncle Vernon was about to start yelling.

"Well...you see..."Ari began, but the doorbell rang before she could even attempt to explain.

"Go get the door, Girl," Uncle Vernon ordered while still trying to keep his temper so that whoever was at the door didn't hear him.

Ari ran to the door already expecting who it was, and she didn't want to keep her professor waiting. Ari opened the door to greet a man who looked like he would rather be anywhere except here. The man was thin with sallow skin and a crooked nose. It looked as though it had been broken many times. He was dressed in what looked like a robe. Uncle Vernon was not going to approve.

While she was taking in his outward appearance, he was taking in hers. To say he was not impressed would be an understatement. He knew that the girl was adopted, but he thought that Petunia would still care for the child. However, before him was a girl who looked to be seven, not eleven, and was wearing clothes that could easily be a tent for the girl.

"Are you going to invite me in, Miss Potter?" The man asked after overcoming his shock.

"Ummm... what? Oh yes, of course, professor," Ari stumbled as she stood aside to allow her new professor inside.

"Are you always this eloquent? Never mind, I can guess the answer to that. Now, where are your aunt and uncle? I need to discuss a few things with them before we leave," the professor stated while looking around.

"I know how to talk, and they are in the kitchen," Ari responded. She was getting the impression that this teacher was difficult to impress.

"That remains to be seen and don't be disrespectful. Lead the way," the professor said.

Ari led the way to the kitchen. The professor continued to look around as they went. When they entered the kitchen, all three Dursleys looked up.

"Well, who was at the door, girl?" Uncle Vernon questioned not seeing the man behind his niece.

"Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, this is Professor Snape. He has come to take me shopping for my supplies. These are the plans that I was telling you that I already had," responded Ari who wondered if she should hide behind the professor.

"And when were these plans made? I don't remember you getting a call, letter, or email," Uncle Vernon snapped.

"I sent your niece a letter when the owl that delivered her Hogwarts letter returned with no response," the professor answered.

"And just who are you?" Uncle Vernon questioned not liking where this was going.

"I am Professor Snape, professor of potions and head of Slytherin house at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Professor Snape answered. "I am to assume that you have explained everything to Miss Potter, and it was sheer negligence on her part that prevented Hogwarts from getting a response."

"No. We sent no response because she will not be going. I refuse to have a freak in this household," Uncle Vernon yelled.

"Great... you just made my job even more difficult, muggle. Ari, what do you know of your parents and your abilities?" Professor Snape inquired.

"I know that mom and dad died in a car crash. Dad was a good for nothing, lay-around drunk. I keep making things happen without meaning to. Also, I can talk to snakes and the owl you sent me. By the way, what do you mean by it bites?" Ari answered the question with all the information she could think of.

"What do you mean 'owl'?" Uncle Vernon questioned.

"After you took my first letter, they sent me a second one and told me to keep the owl," Ari answered.

"First of all, your parents did not die in a car crash and your father, loath as I am to say it, was not a drunk. Lily and James are your adoptive parents. You were brought to them by someone from the hospital when you were a few days old. Next, they were murdered by an evil wizard. He tried to kill you and failed. That is where you scar came from," Professor Snape tried to explain all this as quickly as possible.

"What was the wizard's name?" Ari asked.

"Nobody speaks the name. However, it can't do you any harm to know. He was called Voldemort. Everyone calls him you-know-who. I recommend you do the same," Professor Snape responded.

"Did you know my parents?" Ari asked.

"I knew your mother, yes. I also knew your aunt. Isn't that right Tuney?" Professor Snape asked turning his attention to the Dursleys.

"You were a freak of a boy then, and I can see you haven't changed. The girl isn't going," Aunt Petunia snapped.

"We swore we would stamp the nonsense out of her. She just needs more lessons is all. Plus, I am not paying for all the books and supplies that are required," Uncle Vernon added.

"Then, it is a good thing she doesn't require your assistance to buy the necessary supplies. One more thing, don't ever let me catch you threatening abuse upon a child, magical or otherwise. Those kinds of actions are not tolerated," Professor Snape threatened.

"Now, Miss Potter, let's go. We have many supplies to buy, and I have potions I need to return to," Professor Snape instructed.

"Professor, may I bring the owl with me? I need to get supplies for her too, and the Dursleys might hurt her if I leave her," Ari inquired.

"Go get her, quickly," Professor Snape responded.

Ari ran upstairs and into her room.

"Come on, the professor is here to take me to get my supplies, and you are coming," Ari told the owl.

_"Yes, m'lady."_

The owl flew and landed gracefully upon Ari's shoulder. Ari ran downstairs to find Professor Snape waiting for her by the door.

"Tell her to meet us at the Leaky Cauldron. We can't take her on the subway with us," Professor Snape instructed.

"Can you meet us at the Leaky Cauldron?" Ari asked.

_"Yes, m'lady. I know the way. I will meet you by the back entrance to Diagon Alley."_

The owl flew off. Ari hoped she knew where she was going.

"She said she would meet us by the back entrance to Diagon Alley," Ari told the professor.

"Good. Let's go," said Professor Snape, and he led Ari out the door.

Ari had a feeling that her life was about to change drastically, and she was excited. She followed Professor Snape down the street for a day of excitement.

**xXx**


	5. Chapter 4

**Once more, I do NOT own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.**

**xXx**

**Chapter 4**

Ari and Professor Snape made their way down the street in silence - it was the uncomfortable sort. Ari hadn't wanted anybody to know what her home life was like and now Professor Snape knew.

"Tell me, Miss Potter, how long has your uncle been beating you?" Professor Snape asked.

"My uncle doesn't..." Ari began to deny using one of her ready-made excuses for such occasions.

Professor Snape stopped abruptly and looked Ari straight in the eyes.

"Do not attempt to lie to me, Ari. I know the signs of an abusive household. Now, how long?" Professor Snape interrupted.

"Since I was three and weird stuff began to happen around me," Ari responded.

"That 'weird stuff' as you so eloquently put it is called accidental magic and your aunt knew that," explained Professor Snape as he began to walk again.

"Then why didn't she explain it to me?" Ari inquired, a bit hurt that her aunt had known what was happening and had never told her.

"Jealousy, Miss Potter. Simple jealousy," Professor Snape answered.

They continued on in silence. Ari was trying to figure out what else in her life was a lie. She wanted answers; unfortunately, the only person she knew who could give her answers obviously didn't want to talk to her. Professor Snape, on the other hand, was thinking of what exactly he was going to tell the annoying old man that called himself headmaster.

By now, they had taken a bus and a subway to get to London and were walking down a sidewalk. The silence was starting to get to Ari, and she was having way too much time to think. Ari was starting to wonder if this was all a joke, or some grand scheme to kidnap her. Maybe she should have just been grateful to go to Stonewall.

"This isn't a joke or a scheme," said Professor Snape out of nowhere.

"How did you know what I was thinking?" Ari questioned starting to get creeped out.

"Your emotions are written on your face. Now, do you have your list of supplies with you?" Professor Snape answered.

"Yes. It's right here," Ari answered taking a look at the list.

**All students require the following items.**

**Uniform:**

**Three sets of plain work robes (black)**

**One plain pointed hat (black) for everyday wear**

**One pair of dragonhide gloves**

**One black winter cloak with silver fastenings**

**Parents are reminded that the student's name needs to be on ALL belongings.**

**Course Books**

**One of each**

**The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)**

**A History of Magic**

**Magical Theory**

**A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration**

**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi**

**Magical Drafts and Potions**

**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them**

**The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection**

**Equipment**

**1 wand**

**1 standard size 2 pewter cauldron**

**1 set of glass or crystal phials**

**1 telescope**

**1 set of brass scales**

**1 owl OR cat OR toad**

**Parents of first years are reminded that first years are NOT permitted to bring their own brooms.**

"Where are we going to go to get all of this?" Ari questioned.

"Your owl already told you," replied Professor Snape.

"No, she said that she would meet us at the back entrance to someplace called the Leaky Cauldron," Ari denied.

Professor Snape gave her a look that asked if she was truly that clueless. Upon seeing that she had no epiphany, he enlightened her, "The Leaky Cauldron is in front of the entrance to Diagon Alley. That is where we will buy your supplies."

"Oh, are we almost there?" Ari questioned while looking around.

"We are here," replied Professor Snape as he stopped in front of an old building.

Ari looked around, but people just continued to walk past the building as if they didn't even see it. She had a feeling that they were the only ones who could see it.

"Let's go, and stay close," Professor Snape said as he ushered Ari inside the building.

It took a few moments for Ari's eyes to adjust to the lack of light. However, once they did, she saw the oddest assortment of beings she had ever seen. In the dim lighting of the room, Ari could just make out the weirdest assortment of people that she had ever seen. There were people in cloaks, ratty worn out clothes and clothes that just plain did not match. Ari firmly believed that Aunt Petunia would have a heart attack if she ever saw such a sight.

"Come along, Miss Potter," Professor Snape urged. People were beginning to look at the couple who had just entered. Most of them recognized the grumpy potions professor; however, many were doing a double take at the girl that was with him. A few had recognition dawning upon their faces and one such person came over.

"Miss Potter, it is an extreme honor to finally meet you," a woman whose name was apparently Doris Crockford, according to the embroidery on her coat, exclaimed.

After that, it was like the floodgates had opened wide. There was a sudden sound of chairs scraping the hardwood floor as nearly everybody jumped up from their seats to welcome the girl-who-lived. Ari was forced to shake hands with and be introduced to more people in the span of 5 minutes than she had in her first eleven years. She was introduced to a bubbly man named Dedalus Diggle, and she was happy to realize that he was one of the people who used to wave to her on the street but would then vanish.

"ALRIGHT! THAT IS ENOUGH!" Professor Snape yelled over the noise of the crowd. "Miss Potter has shopping to do, and needs to get moving."

The crowd quickly parted making way for the pair to get to the back door. Everybody, that is, except for one man who seemed to be trembling. When the crowd stepped back, he stepped forward. He was obviously nervous about something with the way that his body was trembling and his hand were fidgeting with the edge of his robe.

"P-pleased to s-s-see you here, P-P-Professor S-Snape," the man stammered horribly. Ari could already tell that she would not be able to talk to this person for an extended period of time without going crazy.

Professor Snape's head snapped towards the man and something akin to worry flashed through his eyes. He subtly stepped in front of Ari. Ari had no idea what was going on, but it was obvious to her that Professor Snape did not like this man.

"Indeed. Ari, this is Professor Quirrell. He will be in charge of teaching you Defense Against the Dark Arts," Professor Snape explained while his eyes did not stray from Professor Quirrell.

"P-Potter, very p-pleased to meet you," Professor Quirrell stammered as he moved to shake Ari's hand.

"I do believe that I stated, Quirrell, that Miss Potter needed to get moving on her shopping," Professor Snape intervened. "Let's go, Ari."

"Of c-co-course. S-Sorry to k-keep you," Professor Quirrell apologized as the pair continued their way out of the pub.

Ari had a feeling that something was not right with that guy; however, she did not know what. For now, she decided to just keep her eyes open.

"You would do well not to be caught alone with Professor Quirrell, Ari," Professor Snape warned.

"Why is that, Professor?" Ari questioned.

"Nothing you need to be concerned with, just do it," Professor Snape snapped.

"Yes, sir," Ari replied. "However, I was already thinking of avoiding him. I don't think I could handle listening to that annoying stammer any more than necessary."

Ari thought that for a second she saw Professor Snape's lips twitch as he tried not to smile at that comment. However, when she looked closer, she saw that he was just as stern faced as normal.

They made their way out the back door of the pub and stopped in front of the brick wall. All of a sudden, something landed on Ari's shoulder, and she let out a scream. Professor Snape snapped around with his wand out; however, what he saw caused him to roll his eyes in exasperation.

"Really, Potter, it is just your owl," Professor Snape said.

Ari opened her eyes to see that it was indeed her new friend resting upon her shoulder.

_"Did I scare you, m'lady?"_

"Only a little. Next time please don't land on me without me knowing," Ari requested.

_"Of course, m'lady. Next time, I shall make sure you see me coming or make a lot of noise."_

"Miss Potter," Professor Snape called trying to get his student's attention. "In the future, it might be more prudent not to be talking to an owl in public."

"Why is that professor?" Ari questioned.

"It is not deemed normal to be able to communicate with owls. So, unless you want people muttering about you being a dark witch before you even arrive at Hogwarts, I recommend that you refrain from talking to her until you get home," Professor Snape responded. He honestly hoped that Ari took his advice. He really did not want to have to deal with the consequences if she didn't.

"Ok," answered Ari, not completely understanding why talking to her owl was dark.

With that accomplished, Professor Snape proceeded to tap the brick wall. Ari then watched in amazement as the wall opened up like some secret passageway.

"This, Ari, is Diagon Alley," Professor Snape explained and watched as Ari's eyes lit up in excitement.

Ari truly believed she would need six more eyes as she tried to take in everything. The street was lined on either side by mix-match buildings. None of them were the same and yet they all seemed to belong. The street was crowded as adults ran this way and that trying to find the items they were searching for or trying to gather up their fleeing children. The children were however not to be restrained as they ducked under adults and pushed through crowds trying to see everything and anything.

Items were lined up outside the shops. Owls, cats, bats, cauldrons, and weird looking clothes. Ari tried to take in everything, but knew it was impossible.

"Come on, Miss Potter, and stick close. I would rather not have to explain to people how you got lost on my watch," Professor Snape's voice called her away from her observations.

They picked their way through the crowd. From what Ari could tell, they were heading towards the large white marble building at the end of the alley. Professor Snape made certain to keep Ari in front of him at all times. They walked up the steps and were bowed through the bronze doors by the strangest creature Ari had ever seen.

**Before they entered the silver doors, Ari stopped to read the poem:**

**Enter, stranger, but take heed**

**Of what awaits the sin of greed,**

**For those who take, but do not earn,**

**Must pay most dearly in their turn.**

**So if you seek beneath our floors**

**A treasure that was never yours,**

**Thief, you have been warned, beware**

**Of finding more than treasure there.**

"I would believe the warning, Miss Potter. The goblins do not easily forgive, as you will learn in your history of magic class," Professor Snape advised.

"What exactly do the goblins do, Professor?" Ari inquired.

"They run the bank and protect the treasure left in their care. There are other tasks, but for now that is all you need to know. Now, here is your key. Since you are now eleven it is your responsibility not to lose it," Professor Snape responded.

With that, he led Ari through the silver doors and up to a goblin that was not helping another customer.

"Miss Potter wishes to visit her vault," Professor Snape informed the goblin.

"Does Miss Potter have her key?" was the response of the goblin's rough voice.

"Right here," Ari stated simply as she handed the goblin her key.

"Follow Griphook. He will take you to your vault," instructed the goblin as another one walked forward, took the key and began to lead them away.

Ari could think of only one word to describe the rail cart ride that led them down to her vault: awesome. Going death defying speeds around sharp turns and steep hills, Ari could think of nothing better. Professor Snape on the other hand was turning a spectacular shade of green and looked to be struggling to hold on to his breakfast. At one point, Ari could of sworn that she saw something at the bottom. She leaned so far over to get a better look that she was in serious danger of falling out. Professor Snape yanked her back in while asking if she had a death wish.

The cart finally came to a stop in front of a vault with the numbers 687 on it. Ari looked around and noticed there were only a few other vaults within sight.

"This way," Griphook stated as he walked towards the vault.

He opened the door and stood to the side. Ari looked inside and noticed that it was almost completely full of weird coins. It didn't look at all like the money she had seen her aunt and uncle use. She looked to Professor Snape hoping to get an explanation, and luckily, he seemed to understand.

"The gold ones are called galleons, the silver ones are called sickles and the bronze ones are called knuts. The conversion rates are not as straight forward as muggle money. One galleon equals 17 sickles or 493 knuts and one sickles equals 29 knuts," Professor Snape explained.

"This all belonged to my parents?" Ari questioned. She could not believe after almost 10 years of hearing her aunt and uncle complain that she actually had money.

"Yes, this is the vault that your parents set aside for you to learn the value of budgeting and spending wisely. There are other Potter family vaults that you will gain access to upon your majority," Professor Snape explained.

"Why would they do this for me? It's not like I am their-" Ari started.

"Stop right there, Miss Potter," Professor Snape interrupted already knowing where her statement was heading. "You might not be their daughter by birth, but the Potters loved you just the same. In their eyes, you were theirs. In their wills, they left you everything except for some monetary belongings that went to some friends."

"Ok, how much should I take? I don't know how much anything costs," Ari asked and then elaborated upon after seeing the questioning look the professor was preparing to give her.

"Grab one galleon worth of knuts, 4 galleons worth of sickles, and about 75 galleons. That should get you your supplies and extra money if you have to owl for anything during the school year," Professor Snape directed.

Ari did as he said and then they both headed back towards the cart.

"You will remain seated or you will receive your first detention before school even starts, Miss Potter," Professor Snape ordered as he noticed Ari starting to lean over the cart again; needless to say, she sat back down.

They arrived back outside and had to wait a few minutes for their eyes to adjust to the major difference in lighting.

"Let's get you measured for your robes and uniform first, Miss Potter. Then Madam Malkin can work on them while you finish your shopping," Professor Snape stated while directing Ari towards the aforementioned shop.

Upon entering, Ari immediately noticed a difference in her professor's demeanor. Up until now, he had been agreeable, not overly friendly but not a complete jerk. Now he was standing in a corner glaring at everyone, mainly her.

"Come to get your robes, deary?" A short friendly witch questioned.

"Yes ma'am," Ari responded.

"Well, just wait right there. I am almost done with this young man," she instructed.

Ari then noticed that there was a young boy standing on the stool draped in what was to obviously become his school uniforms. It looked like he was one of those rich students if the silk material was anything to go by.

"All right deary, you can step down," the friendly witch stated. "I will be right back."

"So you going to Hogwarts too?" the young wizard questioned Ari. He was looking her up and down as if to determine if she was worthy of speaking to him.

"Yes, I just received my letter," Ari responded trying to figure out what he was aiming for with this conversation.

"My name is Draco Malfoy the first and only son of Lord and Lady Malfoy. Therefore, as you can tell by that, I am a pureblood wizard," bragged the young boy who was really starting to remind Ari of Dudley.

"How nice for you," was Ari's only response.

"Do you know what house you're going to be in? I know that most likely I am going to be in Slytherin since practically my entire family has been, with the exception of a few Ravenclaws. I mean, I can't be a Gryffindor since I actually know how to use my brain, and I would simply die before I became a Hufflepuff," Draco continued on as if Ari's answer didn't faze him at all. "By the way, where are your parents?"

"They died before when I was little. What are Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff?" Ari responded, not particularly wanting to talk about them.

"Sorry about your parents. To answer your question, those are the names of the school houses," Draco responded, sounding only a little sorry about the girl who had no parents.

"They were our kind though, right, and how do you not know about the school houses?" Draco questioned. He didn't yet notice the professor that was blending into the shadows in the corner. However, Ari noticed Professor Snape stiffen at the first part of the question.

"They were a witch and wizard if that is what you mean. As I said, they died when I was little and my relatives kept magic a secret from me hoping that I wasn't going to be a witch," Ari answered, trying to avoid stepping into the landmine that the first question obviously posed. She would have to ask the professor later.

"Good, the other kind just really doesn't fit in. I mean they don't even know about magic until they receive their letter," Draco continued on obviously happy with her answer and then realizing what he said. "I mean - you're different. You were born a witch and your family kept it from you. By the way, what is your name?"

"Ari Potter," Ari answered. Draco's eyes widened in realization.

"You are Ari Potter?" Draco questioned.

"Yeah," Ari responded wondering why he was reacting this way to her name.

"Well that explains everything. Let me help you out. Really, all you need to know is that there are three types of witches and wizards: purebloods, half-bloods, and muggleborn. Purebloods are like me and everybody in their family has magic. Half-bloods are families that have both muggle and magical blood. Finally, muggleborns are those that are born from all muggle families. Not that hard really. You are classified as a half-blood because of your mom," Draco explained.

"What was wrong with my mom?" Ari questioned not sure she wanted the answer. However, she also realized that she apparently would not have to ask the professor if Draco explained it to her.

"Your mom was a muggleborn. Therefore, you have muggle blood in your family," Draco explained calmly, realising that Ari would not understand everything right away.

At that moment, the witch came back in and told Draco that he was free to go.

"Well, see you later then. Let's try and meet up on the train, and I can explain some important stuff about Hogwarts before we arrive," Draco told Ari as he gathered his belongings to leave.

"Ok," Ari said and Draco left.

Ari spent the next hour getting fitted for school robes, skirts, shirts, sweaters, winter cloaks, and some everyday clothes. She got the everyday clothes because Professor Snape, who finally decided to come out of the shadows, stated that she needed some clothes that actually fit her. He warned her that without them she would most definitely be teased by her peers.

They left the store after being told the clothes would be owled to Ari when they were finished.

"I would be careful with the young Mister Malfoy if I were you, Ari," Professor Snape warned as they walked along.

"Why?" Ari questioned not wanting to believe that her possible new friend was someone to be avoided.

"It's not that something is wrong with Draco, Ari. However, you need to be careful around his father. Lord Malfoy is not somebody to take lightly," Professor Snape explained.

"Yes, sir," Ari responded. However, she decided she would withhold judgment until she got to talk to Draco again.

"Ok, let's get your potion ingredients next. I can pick up some supplies that I need while we are at it.

They entered Slug and Jiggers Apothecary, and Professor Snape led Ari over to the school kits.

"Grab a kit and then I will help you grab the other items that you will require. The kits never contain enough or everything that you need," he instructed Ari, and she quickly complied.

"Now, we will grab some extra black beetle eyes, armadillo bile, mint, snake fangs, eye of newt, belladonna and peppermint," he continued to grab ingredients that Ari would need for school, explaining that these tended to be the ones that students ran out of the most due to messing up while preparing them.

"You kit already includes phials and scales, so all we need to grab now is a cauldron," Professor Snape explained while directing Ari to the cauldrons. She grabbed a cauldron that fit the description of the one on her list and paid for all of her supplies.

After leaving the apothecary, they decided that they should head over to Ollivander's to get Ari her wand. This was the part that Ari looked forward to the most. Outside the shop Ari sensed an old magic. It wasn't hostile, but it felt different from the rest of Diagon Alley. They walked inside and were greeted by a grey haired man.

"Ah, I was wondering when you would be arriving, Miss Potter. My name is Ollivander. Now which hand are you?" Ollivander greeted and questioned. His piercing, knowing gaze was starting to make Ari's skin crawl.

"Umm, I'm right handed," Ari answered, slightly wary of the man.

Ollivander nodded to this and then set a tape measure to measuring everything: arm length, height, distance between eyes- anything that could be and would never be of importance. The tape measure and Mr. Ollivander, apparently did not know about the concept of personal space. Mr. Ollivander finally called back the tape measure and summoned about ten boxes to him. He handed Ari the wand that was inside the first one.

"Ash, sturdy, ten inches, and good for defense. Well, give it a wave," he instructed when he saw her just standing there.

Ari gave the wand a wave, feeling completely foolish. She looked around to see if anything happened. At first she saw nothing, but when she looked at Professor Snape, she couldn't help but laugh. Her stern professor's hair was red and gold.

Ollivander promptly took back that wand and handed her another. He didn't bother to give her its specifics because he took it back the second her fingertips touched it.

It continued on like this for another half hour. Ari had blown up three shelves, the front window, and had turned Mr. Ollivander's robes pink. Even Professor Snape was starting to get interested.

"You are a tricky customer but have no worries; we will find one for you," Ollivander exclaimed excitedly. Then his expression changed to one of wonder.

He ran to the back part of his store and came back a few minutes later with a black box. Ollivander hesitated for the smallest of seconds and then opened the box. He handed the wand to Ari.

"Holly, phoenix feather, and eleven inches," Ollivander stated.

The second that Ari grasped the wand, Ari knew it was the one. She felt warmth coming from it. It felt right.

"Very interesting," Ollivander muttered but everyone heard him.

"What is interesting?" Ari inquired.

"I know every wand that I have ever made and sold, Miss Potter. Your wand has only one brother and that brother gave you that scar. It is interesting that this wand would choose you. Most likely it feels a bond due to the scar its brother left," Ollivander explained.

Ari paid for the wand, and Professor Snape led her out of the store. Once outside, Professor Snape pulled Ari aside.

"Don't tell anybody what you found about your wand. Nobody wishes to think about the defeater of the Dark Lord having a twin core wand," Professor Snape instructed with great urgency.

"Let me guess, it could lead to me being shunned or treated poorly," Ari responded.

"Correct, Miss Potter," Professor Snape answered. Ari nodded in response, and he knew she would keep it quiet.

Professor Snape then led her to Flourish and Blotts where she purchased her books and a few others. Some of the extra books that she picked up included _Hogwarts a History_ and one known as _A Complete History of the Magical World: From Creation to Present._ The last one mentioned something about a goddess named Hecate that formed the wizarding world, which caught Ari's attention. Professor Snape agreed that it was wise for Ari to know as much as she could about the wizarding world before she went to Hogwarts. Therefore, he also recommended she get the book _Wizarding Etiquette and Culture_. It was a book about the customs and traditions of the wizarding world.

By the time that Ari had purchased all of the books, Professor Snape decided that they had everything required and that the only thing left to do was to stop by Eeylops Owl Emporium. At the shop, Ari purchased a nice cage for her owl along with some food and basic care supplies. She knew she would need to come up with a name for her new friend soon and hoped her books would give her some ideas.

Professor Snape shrunk all the bags and told Ari's owl, who had been following them all day, to head home before leading Ari out into the muggle part of London. There they decided to go to a nice little cafe for lunch.

"Professor, why did your attitude change when we went to get my robes?" Ari finally asked the question that had been bothering her all day.

"There are things in this world that you really should not concern yourself with, Miss Potter, and that is one of those things," Professor Snape responded, shocked that she had been observant enough to notice.

With that the topic dropped, though Ari was not in the least happy with the answer. They finished their lunch and made their way to the subway. From the subway, they made their way back to Privet Drive. Once outside, Professor Snape stopped Ari.

"Your train leaves at exactly 11 o'clock on the first of September. Should your relatives refuse to get you there or you miss it due to your own stupidity, send a letter with your owl to Hogwarts and somebody will come and retrieve you. Under no circumstances are you to attempt to use magic. Understood?" Professor Snape instructed while trying to make sure he remembered everything. He handed her a ticket for the train.

"Yes, sir," Ari responded.

With that, they walked inside. Ari led the professor upstairs and he unshrunk her items for her and left the house. Ari's relatives avoided her for the rest of the summer, and Ari can honestly say she didn't care. While reading A History of Magic she finally came across a name for her little friend.

"Little one, what do you think of the name Hedwig?" Ari questioned.

_"It is a very lovely name, m'lady. Is there any special meaning behind it?"_

"It was the name of a medieval medical witch who went around and healed the sick people that could not afford expensive physicians. She was named a saint for her good deeds," Ari explained.

_"That is a very lovely name, m'lady. I would love to be named after such a wonderful lady."_

"Then Hedwig is your name," Ari stated as though to finalise something of deep importance. Of course, the bond between these two was so strong that this was a very significant step.

**oOo**

Meanwhile, Professor Snape had apparated away to Hogwarts once he found a suitable abandoned alley. Once outside the gates, he quickly made his way to the office of the headmaster, who he knew was waiting for him.

He gave the password, skittles, to the gargoyle with great annoyance and opened the door once his knock was answered. Inside, the headmaster was extremely happy to see his professor had returned.

Headmaster Dumbledore was a wise and merry old man who had seen much in his 100+ years of life. He knew that many of his employees found him annoying; however, he honestly believed that one should not live just to please others. He played the merry old, doting grandfather to put his students at ease and, honestly, it worked.

"Ahh, Severus, my boy, welcome back. I trust that everything went smoothly. Did you find out why young Miss Potter did not answer her letter?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, it went about as smoothly as possible with only a small run in with the young Malfoy boy as an obstacle. And, yes, I know why she did not respond to her letter," Professor Snape answered stiffly while hoping to make the headmaster see reason.

"And what reason would that be?" Dumbledore pushed.

"Her relatives took the letter from her and were not going to let her attend. Dumbledore, that child is neglected at best and abused severely at worst. The Dursleys didn't even tell her about her parents or magic. The child knows nothing of our world or her past. For crying out loud, I had to explain to her how her parents were murdered," Professor Snape began to rant not even noticing how the headmaster's eyes widened.

"What do you propose, Severus?" Dumbledore questioned.

"Pull her out of that house. It is not worth it if she is protected from outside forces but not the inside," Professor Snape urged.

"You know that I cannot do that. The wards that protect her are too important. You yourself know how much research it took to adjust those wards to accept her adopted family as blood protection," Professor Dumbledore responded.

"It is not worth it. You leave her there and eventually Ari will break - or worse," Professor Snape stated trying to get his boss to see reason.

The headmaster thought about this for a few minutes. On one hand, he wanted the child to remain inside the wards where she was safe from the lingering dark wizards that wished her harm. On the other hand, if the child was truly being abused, then he needed to pull her out as soon as possible. This was, after all, a child that he considered to be almost his granddaughter.

"She must be there for at least the weeks before, of, and after her birthday. If you can find an acceptable substitute for the rest of summer I will consider it. However, let's not worry about it till near the end of the current school year," the headmaster conceded as he did not want the child to be horribly stressed.

"I see no reason for her to return at all. However, that is the best I am going to get, isn't it?" Professor Snape inquired.

Professor Dumbledore nodded his head somberly and Professor Snape knew that he should just be glad that the headmaster was willing to compromise this much. He knew that the wards prevented Voldemort's remaining followers from being able to track down Ari. If it wasn't for those wards, Ari would have probably not made it to her second birthday. The wards protected her when she was away from Hogwarts or in the safety of a trusted wizarding family. So, Miss Potter would return but at least now it would only be for a couple of weeks and not the entire three months. Now, all was left to do was to find a trusted family to take her in the rest of the time.

**xXx**


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The rest of the month with the Dursleys went by rather uneventfully for Ari. That is to say that Uncle Vernon did not teach any of his lessons to Ari. In fact, the Dursleys ignored Ari. They still left a chore list for her to do every day, but they did not yell at her. They didn't even look at her. For all of this, Ari was grateful.

Ari spent her free time in her room reading her new books. She finished reading _A History of Magic_ , _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi,_ _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_ , _Magical Drafts and Potions_ , _Hogwarts a History_ and _Wizarding Etiquette and Culture_. She was well on her way through _A Complete History of the Magical World: From Creation to Present_. She found this book to be one of the more fascinating ones. From what she read, a goddess named Hecate created a race of magical beings to teach in her ways. As her people were persecuted, Hecate created a world for them that was separate but joined with the mortal world. Her people remained unchanged in their ways while the mortals developed technology and new methods of living.

Hecate herself was the Greek goddess of magic, sorcery, witchcraft, crossroads, trivial knowledge and necromancy. While not one of the Olympians, in her own way she was quite powerful. As such, she did not like the other gods and goddesses interfering with her people. She preferred that they leave her people alone. Ari felt like she almost knew the goddess. The goddess looked familiar almost like a dream. She remembered her dream about giant people arguing and wondered if the two were connected.

It was the last day of summer, and Ari was going to tell her aunt and uncle that she needed a lift to the train station. She had already realised that Professor Snape had forgot to tell her how to get on to the platform. However, she was fairly certain that she could figure it out. She just needed to get a ride. She waited this long, because she knew that if she had asked sooner, the Dursleys would have found some excuse to not take her.

She approached the living room to find the Dursleys watching television. Ari walked in and decided it was now or never.

"Umm...Uncle Vernon," Ari started hesitantly. She had enjoyed the lack of lessons and didn't want her uncle to start again.

Uncle Vernon grunted.

"The train for my school leaves tomorrow, and I need a ride," Ari stated taking the grunt as a sign to start talking.

He grunted again.

Ari took that to mean okay, and she began to walk back up to her bedroom.

"Funny thing magic. Are all of your brooms and carpets broken?" Uncle Vernon stated with great cruelty.

"Actually, first years aren't allowed brooms and magic carpet are illegal in Great Britain," Ari responded.

"Ha! Where is this blasted school anyways?" Uncle Vernon questioned.

"Somewhere in Scotland. That's why we have to purchase the winter cloaks," Ari responded. She then left the room before her uncle could say anymore to her.

Ari returned to her room and began to make sure that everything was packed for school. She didn't want to forget any of her books. She knew that if she left anything and the Dursleys happened upon it, it would not be there when she got back. She put all her school clothes into the trunk and left out a pair of jeans and a top she bought in Diagon Alley.

_"M'lady, you need to go to sleep. You don't want to oversleep and miss your train tomorrow."_

"I know Hedwig. I am about to go to bed. Night, Hedwig," Ari stated.

_"Good night, m'lady."_

Ari woke up at five the next morning and decided that it was not worth it to try and go back to sleep. She got dressed in her lavender top and blue jeans before heading down stairs. She decided to let Hedwig keep sleeping.

Downstairs she began preparing breakfast for the Dursleys. She had just finished pouring the coffee when all three Dursleys came down together.

"Well, at least the girl remembers her place," Uncle Vernon muttered under his breath.

Ari took her place in the corner of the kitchen and waited for anything that the Dursleys might need. The Dursleys ate in silence, and then, Aunt Petunia silently handed Ari a plate of the left over eggs, bacon, and toast.

"What time does that train of yours leave girl?" Uncle Vernon questioned as he walked out of the kitchen.

"Eleven o'clock sir," Ari responded.

"Be ready to leave at nine. I will not have Dudley being late to his first day of school because of you and your freakishness," Uncle Vernon order.

"Yes, sir," Ari responded as she headed upstairs until it was time to leave.

Upon entering her room, Ari found Hedwig to be awake and ready for food.

_"Did you sleep well, m'lady?"_

"Very well thank you and call me Ari."

_"Yes, m'lady."_

"You're never going to do it are you?"

_"No, m'lady."_

A few hours later, Ari had personally packed her heavy trunk into the trunk and they were on their way to Kings Cross Station. Once there, Uncle Vernon unloaded the trunk, placed it and Hedwig onto a trolley and pushed it into the station. He stopped walking when they reached the wall between platforms nine and ten.

"Well, here you are. However, I don't see your platform anywhere. See you next summer," Uncle Vernon sneered as he walked away laughing.

Now, Ari knew better than to panic. She had known since she first saw her ticket that Professor Snape had forgot some information. She stood next to the wall and waited to see if she could see somebody that looked like they were on their way to Hogwarts.

When it was half to eleven, a family of red-heads came into sight, and they were approaching the wall and Ari. Ari stood to the side to watch them. She didn't want to ask them about the platform until she knew for certain that they were heading to platform 9 3/4. These facts though were very quickly satisfied.

"Okay, so what is the platform number?" the plump woman asked. She appeared to be the mum of the five children that were with her.

"Platform 9 3/4, mum. Why do you ask that every year?" one of the two twins asked.

"Yeah, mum. We have all known since Bill started going or at least by his 3rd year," the second twin responded.

The mum ignored these questions, "You go first Percy, and be quick we are running out of time."

The oldest boy ran straight at the wall and just as Ari thought he was going to crash he vanished. Ari was surprised and decided to wait to see if what she had seen was correct.

"Fred, George, you two go next. Quickly," the mom directed while looking around to make sure none of the people in the station were watching.

The two twins then marched like they had all the time in the world up to the wall. Ari had to resist the urge to laugh. She could tell that the twins were a laugh. After they vanished, Ari decided that she needed to ask for help. She walked up to the mum just as the fourth son was getting ready to walk towards the wall.

"Excuse me," Ari stated to get their attention.

"Yes, dear?"

"Can you tell me how to-" Ari started while pointing to the wall.

"Do you need to know how to get onto the platform?" the mum questioned, seeming to know what Ari needed.

Ari nodded, glad that the woman didn't find it weird that she didn't know what to do.

"It's alright, dear. Everybody has trouble the first time. Now just walk straight at the wall, without stopping. If you are nervous, I recommend running so that you are not tempted to stop. Go on ahead of us, before Ron."

"Thank you."

Ari lined her trolley up with the wall and began to run full speed at the wall. She closed her eyes as she got close, she didn't want to see the wall if she did wind up hitting it. However, the impact never came. The next time that she opened her eyes, she was looking at a scarlet red train and a sign that read "Platform 9 3/4." She had made it onto the platform.

Ari made her way over to a train car that was half-way down the train and lifted her trunk through the door. She proceeded to walk down the car until she found an empty compartment. Upon entering with her trunk, Ari knew that it was going to be a pain to get her trunk up onto the shelf. She attempted the first time and promptly dropped it on her foot. After letting out a few of Uncle Vernon's choicest words for such occasions, Ari decided she was just going to leave it on the floor.

"Hey, do you need some help with that?" one of the red-headed twins asked as he approached Ari.

"Yeah, it would be awesome. But if you can't, I'll just leave it here, it's fine."

"Don't worry, we can get it up there. Hey, George! Come over here a sec."

"Yeah! What do y'a need?" the twin named George questioned as he ran over at the call of his twin.

"Help me lift her trunk onto the shelf. She's already dropped it on her foot once."

Together the three of them lifted the trunk onto the shelf. As Ari was wiping her bangs out of her eyes, the scar on her forehead came into view. The twins eyes widened in realization of who they had just assisted.

"Umm..."

"Are you?"

"I think she might be."

"But what are the chances?"

"Umm, what are you guys talking about?"

"Are you her?" Fred asked.

"Who?"

"Ari Potter," George answered.

"Yeah. That's me."

"Sweet!" the twins exclaimed.

"Fred! George! Where are you?" the mom from earlier called out.

"Gotta go," they said together as they ran off to meet up with the rest of their family.

With the twins gone, Ari sat down and got comfortable in her car. She was not expecting for anybody to join her, but she did hope that maybe she had just made some friends. She looked out her window and noticed that the family of red-heads were there. The one called Ron was having his nose rubbed by his mom. While that was obvious social suicide, Ari wished that she had a mum that would fuss over her like Ron's. Heck, she wished she had parents period. Pushing those thoughts away, she listened in on the conversation. The twins were just running up to the rest.

"Hey mum! Guess who we just met," Fred exclaimed.

"Who did you meet Fred?"

"We met Ari Potter."

"The Ari Potter. She has the scar and everything."

"She was the girl that we saw standing next to the barrier."

"Oh, no wonder she was all alone. I don't want you two pranking her. She will have enough trouble getting everybody to treat her normally without them laughing at her."

"Don't worry, mum."

"Yeah, we know there is a time and place for a prank."

"Now all of you behave. Fred, George I don't want any letters this year about you flooding the potions lab or putting glue on the broomsticks again."

"Yes, mum," the twins chorused. Ari could tell, however, that they were pranksters and trouble makers and that they would not be following through with that.

"Oh, dear. Where is Percy?"

"Relax, mum, he's right there," Ron stated with obvious disdain.

It was easy to see why. The oldest brother was strutting up to his family like an over cocky peacock and displaying a badge on his chest like he had just been named Prime Minister.

"Good, good. Now do you all have everything?"

"Yes, mum."

"You boys will watch out for Ron, right?"

"Don't worry mum"

"Little Ronnie is safe with us."

Ari was now certain that she was going to have to get used to the twins speaking for each other or speaking as one. Oh joy.

"Why does that not reassure me?" the mum muttered.

As though sensing her distress, the oldest son piped up, "Don't worry mom, I will watch out for Ron and make sure the twins behave. I have to go. The prefects have a meeting before we perform our duties, and I don't want to be late."

He walked off. Just then, the train's whistle blew and all the students began making a mad dash for the doors. The parents on the platform were crying and once again Ari felt extremely lonely. It wasn't long before the train whistled, signaling that it was time to leave. All of the students rushed to board the train as parents clamoured to say final goodbyes and give last minute advice. Ari ducked back from the window as the Weasley children began to board the train. Then the train began to pull away and Ari believed that she was off to a better life than that which she was leaving behind. She had to believe that for her sanity.

After a few minutes of watching the train station fall into the background, Ari decided to make herself comfortable. She was not expecting anybody to join her and that, of course, was when the door to her compartment opened. The twins entered with their younger brother standing behind them.

"Hey, Ari. We never got to introduce ourselves. I am Fred, this guy who looks like me but is less handsome is George and the littler brother behind us is Ron," Fred introduced.

"Hi," Ari responded, looking at Ron.

"Well, we're off. Gotta find Lee and plan the welcome back festivities," George said as they left the compartment.

Ron watched his brothers leave and looked around uncertainly. Ari finally decided to end the awkwardness for both of their sakes.

"Do you want to sit down and join me?"

"You don't mind?" Ron questioned looking awed.

"Of course not. Why would I?"

"Because you're Ari Potter. What would ya want to do with someone like me?"

"Ok, let's get a few things clear. I am not an egotistical person just because of something that happened when I was one and can't even remember happening. Also, you won't make many friends or gain respect if you keep putting yourself down. Now sit down before I make you sit down."

Ron sat down. The compartment was silent until Ari finally got fed up. Obviously, she was going to have to get Ron used to being around her. She just hoped that not everybody was like this or she was probably going to go nuts before the end of the first week of classes.

"So, are Percy, Fred, George and the little girl your only siblings?"

"No, I am number 6 out of 7. I have two more brothers. Charlie works in Romania taming and breeding dragons. Bill is the oldest, and he does something for Gringotts. He can't really tell us what he does. Mom hates both their jobs, because they are away from home most of the time."

"I wish I had siblings, but all that I have is my cousin."

"Aren't you spoiled though?"

"Nope, that would be my cousin. I am mostly left to myself. I mean, I'm given what I need, of course, but my cousin is given everything he wants."

Ari hoped that he didn't question it any further. She really didn't want to have to lie too much about her home life to someone that she thought might be a potential friend. Lucky for her, Ron didn't question it. They continued to talk about interests and hobbies. Of course, the first one that Ron brought up, Ari had no clue what it was and it sounded like a weird disease.

"So who's your Quidditch team?"

"Quidditch?"

"Oh, right. You were muggle-raised. Ok, so Quidditch is only the best magical sport around. It is played on brooms, and…" Ron began to explain in great details the fine points of Quidditch. Ari just wished he would explain the basics and leave it at that.

The discussion of Quidditch lasted for about half an hour until someone that Ari actually recognized entered their compartment, and she was happy to see him.

"Hey Ari. Did you enjoy the rest of your summer?" Draco Malfoy questioned as he entered the compartment.

"It wasn't too bad. How about yours?"

"Could have been worse. I was excited to leave though."

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

Ron watched the conversation before him with his mouth open and confusion written across his face. He had grown up hearing about the Malfoys, and he knew that they were bad news. Therefore, he was surprised to see Malfoy and Ari talking like old friends.

"What do you want Malfoy?"

"I can talk to a friend if I want to Weasley."

"Yeah, but you'll find no friend here."

"Really, because I think that Ari is one. Aren't you, Ari?"

"Ron, Draco is my friend. Why are you acting like this?"

"You can't be his friend, Ari. He's being raised to follow in his daddy's footsteps. You know that his dad was a death eater. You can't trust him."

"Wait - a Death what?"

"Yeah, that's right, Weasley, my dad is a big old bad death eater, and I am following right in his footsteps. I am not even bothering to become my own person," Draco said sardonically.

"See he even admits it!"

"You are so oblivious. Have you never heard of sarcasm? Surely with the twins as your brothers you would at least know the concept."

"Is anybody going to answer my question?" Ari asked. She was, of course, ignored.

"Don't you dare bring my brothers into this, you slimy snake."

"Guess not," Ari sighed.

"You know that I'm not a snake yet. We haven't been sorted."

"So, you are as good as one," Ron argued weakly.

"You know, ignoring somebody in most societies is considered inconsiderate - not to mention rude," Ari said in a vague tone.

"You know just because my father was a follower of You-Know-Who doesn't mean that I am going to be one," Draco pointed out.

"But apparently you two boys are too busy arguing with each other to care about the third person in the room."

"Yeah, right," Ron scoffed.

"Are you a muggle loving, eklectricity obsessed lunny just because your father is one?" Draco asked the read-head.

"Electricity," Ari corrected.

"No, and don't make fun of my father."

"Then what makes you think that I have to be a dark wizard, You-know-who following death eater like my father?"

"Still wondering what that is..." Ari half-sang.

"Because you are," Ron said childishly.

"And still not finding out what that means," she said, dropping her head into her hands.

"You're nuts," Draco said truthfully.

"I think you're both nuts," Ari bellowed.

"What do you mean?" the boys asked together

"Now you two are listening!"

"What do you mean? You didn't say anything," Ron stated. Draco rolled his eyes.

"Okay, let's get a few things straight since I have both of your attentions. First, Ron, just because Draco's dad is a death eater does not mean that Draco is. Draco is his own person. Second, Draco, lay off the cracks at Ron's family. They did nothing to you. If your fight is with Ron, then keep it with Ron. Now finally, BOTH OF YOU SIT DOWN AND QUIT ARGUING LIKE THREE YEAR OLDS. ALSO, THE NEXT TIME YOU TWO IGNORE ME, I WILL MAKE SURE THAT YOU REGRET IT."

Both of the boys promptly sat down as they were ordered and nodded their heads mutely. They both knew better than to get on the bad side of a pissed off woman/girl.

"Now, somebody answer my question. What is a death eater?"

"A death eater is a dark magic user. That is the name given to You-Know-Who's followers. They did the acts of terror and horror that the last war became known for. Many were placed in Azkaban; however, there are some that still roam free," Draco explained to Ari as simply as he could.

"Among those that are believed to be freed death eaters are Lord Malfoy, Lord Nott, Lord Crabbe, Lord Goyle, and Walden Macnair. Many however went to jail such as the Lestranges, Black, Dolohov, Rookwood, Mulciber, and Travers. Nobody knows how many others are still walking around, and nobody really likes to talk about it," Ron added on. Draco was impressed with how much Ron knew.

"Alright, what is Azkaban?"

"Geez - you really were muggle-raised. Azkaban is the wizarding prison. It is inescapable," Draco explained.

"Well okay, then. Now can you two agree to a truce? At least attempt to get along."

"Maybe."

"I don't know."

"Just agree to disagree."

"Well what do you think Weasel?"

"It might work Ferret."

"Twit."

"Git."

"Prat."

"Brat."

"Alright Dr. Seuss."

"Huh?" both boys looked at her with expressions of absolute confusion.

Ari couldn't help but giggle at the expressions and shake her head, "Never mind, muggle children's book author."

With the arguing done, for now, and both boys agreeing to be at least civil towards one another, the train ride began to go a bit smoother. The snack cart lady came by and between Ari and Draco the three of them had enough snacks. Ron's mother had made her children sandwiches but because of all the different preferences she understandably got some of the orders mixed up. Ron wound up with Percy's tuna sandwiches and there was no telling where his ham ones were. So, Ari and Draco shared their snacks with him and the sandwiches were pushed under the seat and forgotten about.

The three of them were in the middle of breaking into a candy called chocolate frogs when a girl with brown bushy hair came in with a timid, chubby boy.

"Have any of you seen a toad? Neville here lost him, and we are asking everybody if they have seen him," the girl questioned looking all of them in the eye.

Ari stood up and spoke for the group, "None of us have been outside of the compartment and there hasn't been a toad in here. My name's Ari, by the way, and this is Draco and Ron."

"Oh, sorry, my name is Hermione and this is Neville. I am a muggle-born and have learned all of my textbooks by heart. Of course, I hope that it is enough. I didn't actually try any of the spells though, because Professor McGonagall told me that magic was not allowed outside of school. She did encourage me though to take a look at my books. I don't know how we are going to be sorted. All the upper years that I have asked have told me different stories. So what about you? Neville tells me that he has been around magic his whole life."

The three of them looked at each other shocked. Never before had they met anybody that could say so much in one breath. Neville was chuckling under his breath. Based on their expressions he was guessing that Ari, Ron, and Draco were having the same reaction that he had. Ari was certain that Hermione was going to have difficulty making friends unless she toned it down and stopped acting like a know-it-all.

"Well, I am classified as muggle-raised, and Draco and Ron are… umm… what are you classified as?"

"Purebloods. Weasley and I are classified as purebloods."

"Wow! So you two must know all about magic!"

"Just because we grew up around magic does not mean that we know everything. I mean we probably know or will understand a bit more but magic raised don't really have that big of an advantage over the muggle-raised," Draco explained.

"Oh, wow. Anyway, come on, Neville, we need to go find Trevor."

With that, both Hermione and Neville left to go find the escape artist of a toad that went by the name of Trevor. Ari, Draco, and Ron went back to their chocolate frogs. Ari jumped a foot in the air when the frog jumped out of the wrapper and out the window. While Ron and Draco laughed at her expense, Ari looked inside the wrapper and found the card that they boys had told her about. The card was Albus Dumbledore and read the following:

**Albus Dumbledore**

**Considered by many to be the greatest wizard of modern times, he is most famous for his defeat of Grindelwald in 1945. He is also well known for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work with the alchemist Nicolas Flamel. He is currently the headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.**

"Ari, whatcha get?" Ron asked through a mouthful of chocolate.

"Umm… Dumbledore."

"Nice first pick, here - I already have 7 of this one," Ron said and handed her Wendelin the Weird.

"Yeah, you can have this one too." Draco handed Ari the card that he had just pulled, Agrippa.

Ron tried everything to get Ari to trade the card.

"Pleeeeeeease. He is one of the few that I don't have. I don't have any money but I have Scabbers. You can have Scabbers. Just please trade me the card."

Draco was laughing his head off, and Ari was feeling extremely uncomfortable. Ron had grabbed onto the hems of Ari's shirt in the middle of his begging. Ari gave him the card to get him to stop begging. Ron tried to give Ari Scabbers but Ari said "Yeah- no. Let's just say you owe me."

The boys were getting ready to leave so that Ari could change when a girl and two muscular boys walked into the compartment. Ari was starting to wonder if this compartment was Grand Central Station or something with all the traffic going in and out of it.

The girl that walked in was pug faced and had her nose so high up in the air that Ari felt it was a miracle that she could see where she was going. Her hair was stringy and made Ari grateful for her's even though it never seemed to want to be cut and was now down past the bottom of her back. The girl looked around the compartment and her eyes narrowed dangerously upon landing on Draco. Draco's eyes widened. Ari knew that something was about to go down.

"My name is Pansy Parkinson. Only daughter and child to Lord Parkinson. One of the few remaining pureblood families left in the Magical World. Rumors on the train say that Ari Potter is in this compartment. And due to the fact that the there is only one girl in this compartment with a blood traitor and someone who is on his way to becoming a blood traitor, I am going to say that you must be Ari Potter."

"My name is Ari Potter, Miss Parkinson, and you may leave. We were just about to get ready to arrive."

Ari was trying her best to remember what she had read in the book on etiquette and culture. She wanted Pansy out, and she wanted her out now. However, she had to be careful about how she went about it. She knew that if she went about it the wrong way she would wind up on the bad side of all or the majority of the wizarding aristocracy.

"Well, Miss Potter, I am here to offer an alliance. I am one of the elite students that can get and do anything."

"Oh, and let me guess these two muscle heads are your diplomatic peacemakers?"

"No, this is Crabbe and Goyle. They are the sons of Lord Crabbe and Lord Goyle."

"Miss Parkinson, while I would love nothing more than to enter into an alliance with you, I cannot."

"And why not?"

"Because you have already instigated a feud with me by insulting my friends when you first entered the room. Now unless you wish for this feud to escalate past what it already is and in that case, I will have to send an official letter to your family, I recommend you leave. Now."

"You will be sorry for this, Potter," Pansy sneered, all formality and politeness abandoned. "The only way you would be accepted and get far in the wizarding world was if you accepted my friendship. You have made a dangerous enemy this day."

With that, Pansy turned on her heels and strutted out of the compartment. Crabbe and Goyle followed right behind her like two lost puppies.

Once the three were out of sight, Draco turned to Ari, "How on earth did you do that? I thought you were raised by muggles!"

"I was but I thought that it might be helpful to buy a book on wizarding etiquette and culture. It had about 5 chapters on wizarding aristocracy, how to handle diplomatic and alliance situations and how to behave."

"Well, that was a great decision. You handled that situation almost flawlessly. However, you are now in a feud with the heir of one of the most influential wizarding families."

"I know. I am just glad that she left before I had to fulfill my threat. Now can we go back to getting changed."

The two boys left the compartment, and Ari changed into her uniform. She had difficulty with the tie and thought that having an undershirt, sweater, robe, and cloak was a layer too many. She also did not see the hat lasting too long, because it had really no purpose and was just in the way. Once she was certain that she was in it properly, she walked outside and waited for the boys to finish changing. The three continued to talk until the train came to a halt.

"All students depart. Please leave your bags, trunks and pet. They will be taken up separately."

"Here we go," Draco said.

"Let's go see what Hogwarts is like," Ron encouraged.

'It can't be worse than the Dursley's,' Ari thought.

The three departed the train with the other students. And headed towards a voice that was calling for first years. The voice belonged to a giant man with a grisly black beard and matching black hair.

"Hello there, Ari. Been long time since I 'ave seen ya. Last time you was jus' a baby."

"Umm...do I know you, sir?" Ari questioned. Draco and Ron were standing beside her, looking nervous for their friend.

"Ya know me. My name is Rubeus Hagrid. I was there when ya was taken from the house of yer mom and dad. I took you to yer relatives."

"Oh, ok."

Ari still didn't recognize the man, but she decided she would take his word for it. He seemed like a very nice man.

"Alright, firs' years, follow me."

Hagrid led the nervous first years down the path to the lake. There were about 20 boats waiting for them.

"Three to a boat."

Draco, Ron, and Ari climbed into a boat together. Hermione and Neville were in a boat with a small sandy-haired boy. Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle were in another boat and Pansy was glaring right at Ari. Once everybody was in a boat, the wooden watercraft took off across the lake.

Ari got a glimpse of a gorgeous castle. There were four tall towers with numerous smaller ones and it looked like what one would see in pictures of medieval castles.

"Heads down," Hagrid called and everybody lowered their heads before the boats entered into a cave. Hermione pushed Neville's head down before he was knocked into the lake.

The boats came to a stop, and Hagrid led the trembling first years up the path to the doors of the castle. The closer that they had got, the more nervous Ari got. She knew that the others were nervous as well. Hagrid knocked on the doors, and they opened. The first years walked inside and got their first glimpses of the inside of Hogwarts.

**xXx**


	7. Chapter 6

**Beta’d by Lady of Something**

**Chapter 6**

The first years were brought to a halt inside the Entrance Hall. Ari looked around, in awe of it all. She had never been inside a castle before. To their right was a set of huge doors, beyond which Ari could hear hundreds of voices muttering in excitement. She guessed that the rest of the school was in there.

Standing at the bottom of a magnificent staircase was a stern looking woman in emerald green robes. Her hair was done up in a tight bun, and she looked as though she didn't smile often. Ari knew instantly that this was not somebody you would want to anger. The lady looked at her for a moment before addressing Hagrid.

"You may head inside, Hagrid."

"Yes, Professor McGonagall."

'So, she is a professor,' Ari thought. 'I wonder what she teaches.'

"Follow me, please."

The professor led them to a side chamber that had them feeling like sardines. Ari had to take several deep breaths - she didn't do well in small, enclosed spaces. Draco looked at her in concern and hoped that she would be alright.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. In a few minutes, you will enter into the Great Hall and join your classmates. However, first you must be sorted into one of the four houses. The houses are named after the founders of Hogwarts and are thus called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its strengths and each house has its weaknesses. While you are here, your house will act as your family. You will gain points for achievements and lose points for rule violations. The house that has the most points at the end of the year will win the House Cup. Wait here until I return for you."

Professor McGonagall left, and the first years began to talk amongst each other excitedly. Ari turned to Draco and Ron; she was still extremely pale.

"Ari, are you ok?" Draco questioned.

"Yeah, I just don't like small spaces."

"Oh, ok."

"So, do either of you know how they sort us?"

"No, but Fred and George said it hurts real bad. Of course, you can't really believe much of what they say."

Draco smurked

"You know, don't you Draco?" Ari questioned, noticing the smirk.

"Yeah, my dad told me so that I wouldn't act like a fool at the ceremony. Trust me though, it isn't that bad. Weasel, as you said, you shouldn't believe your brothers."

"Don't call me Weasel, Ferret."

"I am not a ferret. How did you even come up with that name?"

"You look like a ferret, Ferret."

"At least the name Weasel makes sense."

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!"

Both boys turned and looked at Ari.

"It is really not an arguing point. I don't really care what you call one another as long as you two start to get along. I will not be caught in the middle of your arguments for the next seven years."

"You two really should listen to her. You don't want to get your houses in trouble already for fighting before classes even start," Hermione put in as she walked over to join the group. Neville was following right behind her.

"Hi, Hermione. Hey, Neville. Did you find Trevor?" Ari asked.

"Yeah, he wound up in the snack car and fell asleep between the chocolate frogs and boxes of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Jelly Beans." Neville responded.

The kids laughed at that.

"So, do any of you know how they are going to sort us? As I said earlier, I have memorized all of our books for this year, but I wonder which spell we will need," Hermione pondered.

"At least you would have an idea of what to do. None of the rest of us have swallowed our textbooks," Ron stated.

Hermione looked hurt, and Ari had a feeling that those two would be butting heads quite frequently in the years to come. Oh joy.

"I honestly hope we don't need to know any. It wouldn't make sense seeing as how we haven't had any schooling yet on how to properly do magic," Ari responded with Neville and Ron agreeing with her.

"Apparently the only person who knows is Ferret, and he isn't saying anything."

"Of course not, where's the fun in that?"

"Let's just agree to continue to hang out even if we are in separate houses," Ari reasoned, trying to end the argument before it could begin.

Neville, Ron, Hermione, and Draco all agreed to this. Ari was happy, school hadn't even started yet, and already she had friends. Just then, Professor McGonagall came in.

"Follow me please, we are ready for you."

The students followed her out in no real order. They were led to and through the large doors that Ari had spotted earlier. Inside, was the Great Hall. Ari tried to take in everything that was before her. She could not see the ceiling for how high it was. From what she had read in _Hogwarts, A History_ , it was charmed to look like the night sky. She thought that it looked really pretty. The candles that were floating it the air looked as though they were floating away in the night sky. There were four long tables that ran the length of the room. Above each of these tables was a different colored banner that had different colors and a different animal. The one on the far right was yellow and black and depicted a badger. The one on the inner right was green and silver and depicted a snake. The banner on the far left was blue and bronze and depicted a raven. The final table on the inner left was red and gold and depicted a lion.

Professor McGonagall brought them to a halt in front of a table on a raised platform. Seated at this table were about 20 to 25 adults who Ari guessed must be the teachers. Ari recognized Professor Snape sitting next to a wizened old wizard who was seated in the middle of the table. Professor McGonagall brought forward a stool and an old hat. Ari was thinking that Aunt Petunia would have burned the thing when it began to sing:

**Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,**

**But don't judge on what you see,**

**I'll eat myself if you can find**

**A smarter hat than me,**

**You can keep your bowlers black,**

**your top hats sleek and tall,**

**For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat**

**And I can cap them all.**

**There's nothing hidden in your head**

**The Sorting Hat can't see,**

**So try me on and I will tell you**

**Where you ought to be.**

**You might belong in Gryffindor,**

**Where dwell the brave at heart,**

**Their daring, nerve, and chivalry**

**Set Gryffindors apart;**

**you might belong in Hufflepuff,**

**Where they are just and loyal,**

**Those patient Hufflepuffs are true**

**And unafraid of toil;**

**Of yet in wise old Ravenclaw,**

**If you've a ready mind,**

**Where those of wit and learning,**

**Will always find their kind;**

**Or perhaps in Slytherin**

**You'll make your real friends,**

**Those cunning folk use any means**

**To achieve their ends.**

**So put me on! Don't be afraid!**

**And don't get in a flap!**

**You're in safe hands (though I have none)**

**For I'm a Thinking Cap!**

Ari applauded with the rest of the school and was greatly relieved to find out she just had to try on a hat. She looked over at Draco who was silently laughing at her and Hermione's shocked expressions. Before either one of them could say anything, Professor McGonagall stepped forward.

"You will step forward when I call your name. You will then sit on the stool, and I will place the hat on your head. The hat will then place you into your house."

"Abbott, Hannah!"

A kind-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled forward. She sat on the stool, and Professor McGonagall placed the hat on her head.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" Was shouted a minute later.

The table on the far right cheered, and Hannah went over to join them. That is when Ari noticed that there was a ghost at each table and many more floating around.

"Baker, Faye!"

An energetic little girl bounced right up to the stool and plopped herself down. While sitting, she was bouncing around so much that Professor McGonagall had trouble putting the hat on her head. She continued bouncing until that hat, in an annoyed voice, announced:

"RAVENCLAW!"

The hall was in a stunned silence. The Ravenclaw table looked as though it had been force fed sauerkraut. None looked pleased and all looked stunned. Ari looked around the table and saw someone that looked like an older version of Faye. She had her head down and was shaking it. Professor McGonagall, sensing the discomfort of a fourth of the room decided to carry on .

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Susan ran over and sat next to Hannah. From what Ari could tell, they had probably met on the train and become friends.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table on the far left clapped and cheered this time.

Lavender Brown became the first new Gryffindor. Ron's twin brothers whistled loudly as the table on the inner left erupted into cheers. It was obvious that this was the loudest house of the four. But it also looked to be the house that also had the most fun.

Millicent Bulstrode went to Slytherin. Ari looked over at this house, and noticed a lot of sullen faces. She could see that many had a gleam in their eyes that Ari associated with Uncle Vernon, the look of enjoying causing pain. However, others just looked sad like they wished they could be seen for themselves and not the image that their house had earned over the years.

Ari was definitely getting nervous now. Draco and Ron must have both realized that something was wrong, because they both grabbed one of her hands and squeezed. She would ask later what gave her away.

By now they were into the F's. Michael Corner and Stephen Cornfoot joined Ravenclaw. While, Vincent Crabbe and Tracey Davis joined Slytherin.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Ari by now realized that the amount of time it took for the hat to decide where to place a person varied. Some were placed instantly and others took a few minutes.

"Finnigan, Seamus!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Granger,Hermione!"

Ari listened eagerly, waiting to hear where her friend would be going. Hermione was the first of their little group of friends to be sorted and while some argued too much (Ron and Draco and Hermione and Ron), some had prejudices (Draco) and others needed to gain some confidence (Neville), Ari still saw this group as her new friends.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Ari clapped along with the lions. She was happy for Hermione. Draco had already explained that more than likely Hermione would not be in Slytherin just because of the beliefs that the house was founded on.

Wayne Hopkins and Megan Jones were placed in Hufflepuff. Anthony Goldstein and Su Li joined Ravenclaw. Finally, Gregory Goyle and Daphne Greengrass were placed in Slytherin.

"Longbottom, Neville!"

Neville stumbled forward tripping over his own two feet. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on his head,and they waited for three minutes before:

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Draco, Ron, and Ari were not surprised. Draco had explained the houses on the train, and they had all taken guesses of where they would be placed. The guesses were: Draco- Slytherin, Hermione- Ravenclaw, Ron- Gryffindor, Neville- Hufflepuff, and Ari- Gryffindor. While Hermione had been placed in Gryffindor and not Ravenclaw, they could see that choice too, because she had gone up and down the train ordering everybody, even the seventh years, to tell her the truth if they had seen Trevor.

Ernie MacMillion was placed in Hufflepuff.

Ari was starting to wonder if there was a quicker way to do this. Her feet were sore, and she wanted to eat and go to bed. She made eye contact with Professor Snape who gave her a small nod to acknowledge her.

"Malfoy, Draco."

Draco strutted forward like an over stuffed peacock, and Ari couldn't help but giggle. Her friend might be less prejudiced than his father but he had an ego to match; almost.

The hat was barely on his head when it placed Draco.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Ari clapped for her friend, but was one of the few who did.

Lucy Moon was the first to come close to a hat stall at almost four minutes. However, she was finally sorted into Gryffindor. Theodore Nott was sorted into Slytherin.

"Parkinson, Pansy!"

Pansy strutted forward with her nose in the air. Ari rolled her eyes. Pansy sent a glare towards Ari as the hat slid down over her eyes.

"SLYTHERIN!"

As soon as the hat made its choice known, Pansy jumped down and walked over to the Slytherin table. Pansy sat down right next to Draco who couldn't have looked more displeased if he had tried.

Padma Patil was placed in Ravenclaw, while her twin, Parvati, was sorted into Gryffindor. Sally-Anne Perks was placed into Hufflepuff.

"Potter, Ari!"

Whispers and mutters broke out around the hall. Nobody had said a word during the other sortings but now it was like a constant buzzing had broken out.

Ari walked forward and sat on the stool. As the hat went over her eyes, Ari noticed a few things. First, she noticed that her friends were smiling at her encouragingly. She noticed Pansy sneering at her. Finally, she noticed half of the hall was trying to get a look at her.

_"Hmmm, a very interesting mind you have young Potter."_

"What do you mean?"

_"I mean you have a mind very much like Lady Wisdom. This of course is no surprise since you are her offspring."_

"You know who my parents are?"

_"Of course, it is all here. Daughter of Lady Wisdom and Lord Spontaneity. You are definitely unique."_

"What on earth are you talking about? I think you have been sitting in the headmaster's office for too long."

_"That is of course possible. But those are definitely your parents."_

"Why are you talking in riddles? Can you just give me a straight answer?"

_"I am a hat, child. Of course I could give you a straight answer, but where is the fun in that? I ask you. No, I much prefer talking in riddles. It makes you children think more."_

"Ok, now you are just being mean."

_"I am only mean if you take what I am saying as being mean."_

"Whatever, just place me please."

_'Of course. On to the task at hand."_

"Can I be with my friends?"

_"A Slytherin, a Gryffindor, and a Hufflepuff. I of course see you making many more friends. You are extremely loyal, but I believe you would drive the house of Hufflepuff insane. You are eager to prove yourself and ambitious to find out about your family, but I fear you would, during this time and age, be unwelcome in the house of Slytherin. That therefore leaves the house of your mother, Ravenclaw, or the house that fits your father, Gryffindor.”_

"Do I get to choose?"

_"Hahahahahaha! No. I get that pleasure. You do not get to take it from me, because it is one of the few things that I get to do as a hat. And I quite enjoy it. You have the bravery that makes a Gryffindor, but you love knowledge for knowledge. Oh, you would make your mother proud. I have decided."_

Ari waited for barely a second before the hat announced its decision to the hall as a whole.

"RAVENCLAW!"

The hall was silent for a moment before the table on the far left erupted into cheers. Ari walked over to join her housemates. She sat down next to the girl Faye. It looked as though she and her friends were going to have to come up with interesting ways to talk with one another.

The sorting continued once the commotion died down. Leanne Richardson and Zacharias Smith were the final Hufflepuffs. Dean Thomas was placed in Gryffindor. Lisa Turpin was a Ravenclaw.

"Weasley, Ron!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Ron's was as quick as Draco's, and his brothers welcomed him with great enthusiasm.

"Williams, Caillen!"

Ari watched as a one of the last two boys walked up to the stool. He didn't over react or act over excited. In fact, he almost looked bored.

"RAVENCLAW!"

He came over to the table and sat across from Ari.

"Williams, Keina!"

The girl that walked up looked exactly like Caillen. Ari knew they had to be twins and believed that if they were the same gender they would be identical.

"RAVENCLAW!"

She walked over to the table. However, instead of sitting next to her brother, she sat next to Ari.

The last boy to be sorted was Blaise Zabini, who went to Slytherin.

After the cheering died down, the wizened wizard stood up. He gained the entire room's attention.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. Now, I know you are all dying to get on with our wonderful feast, but first, I have a few start of the term announcements. All students are warned that the corridor on the east side of the third floor is forbidden to all students. First years are advised and some of our older students would do well to remember that the Forbidden Forest is forbidden." Here he looked straight at Ron's twin brothers.

"Finally, Mr. Filch wishes for me to emphasize that there is to be no magic in the corridors in between classes. Now, enjoy the feast."

He clapped his hands together once and the tables were suddenly covered in plates and platters of food.

Ari's mouth began to water. Never before had she seen so much food at one time, let alone been allowed to eat it. There were pork chops, lamb chops, fried chicken, grilled chicken, roast chicken, roast beef and steak. There were mashed potatoes, baked potatoes and french fries. There were carrots, peas and broccoli. Overall, Ari didn't know what to get first. She did know that she shouldn't get a lot, however. Ari placed a chicken leg, some carrots and a baked potato on her plate. She then began to tune into the conversation around her.

"I can't believe you acted like that Faye! You were acting like you were five instead of eleven," said the girl that Ari had noticed was embarrassed earlier.

"What? I can't help that I was excited, Emily. I am still excited for that matter. Pass the peas please. You really shouldn't judge people. First impressions are not everything. You should get to know somebody before you judge. Take for instance Ari here, we all know her as the-girl-who-lived. However, I bet you there is more to her than that and that she doesn't like all the attention she received earlier. Does anybody know what we will be learning first and when we get to go to bed and what time do we have to be up in the morning?" Faye said this all in one breathe. Ari had a feeling she was ADHD.

Emily, looking absolutely miserable, put her head down on the table. A red headed boy sitting next to her rubbed her back in an attempt to comfort the distraught older sister.

Faye had accomplished one other thing with her speech. Everybody around them was now staring at Ari.

The boy of the twins, Caillen, if Ari remembered correctly, noticed Ari's discomfort at all the stares. He decided to give her some advice.

"We met Faye on the train. It is generally best just to nod, smile, and pretend to understand what she is saying."

"That would work fine, except for the fact that now everybody is staring."

"Well, then ask questions and start conversations with us. Make those that are staring see that you are just a normal person. You are going to have to, because everybody here will see you as what they have been told you are throughout their childhood. You are going to have to get people to see past the rumors and myths."

"Thanks... ummm…?"

"Caillen. Caillen Williams." Ari shook Caillen's offered hand. "The girl on your left is my twin."

"Keina right?"

"Yep."

"Thanks, I thought that was your name, but I didn't want to get it wrong just in case."

"I understand. No problem. So, why did your sorting take so long?"

"The hat decided it wanted to have a conversation without telling me anything. All the while, it was hinting that it knows stuff about my life that I don't. But, of course, it wouldn't tell me anything."

"Ouch, that sucks. However, I don't recall the hat ever doing that in the past." Emily commented. The red headed boy had finally pulled her out of her depression.

Ari had now gained the attention of Emily and her friend, Faye, Keina, and of course Caillen. She hoped she was doing the right thing and decided she could try to make more friends in her house. Despite her ease at becoming friends with Draco, Ron, Neville, and Hermione, she was still extremely nervous and thanks to the Dursleys she had trust issues. She really hadn't revealed anything to the others. She had only told them that she lives with her muggle relatives, her relatives don't like her, and that all of her clothes were hand-me-downs.

"So, what exactly did the hat say?" the red headed boy asked.

"Umm... nothing much that I understood. Something about a Lady Wisdom and Lord Spontaneity. I honestly don't know. I finally told it to place me and it then decided that I belonged here."

"Well, we are glad to have you. My name is Alex Hale by the way. I am one of the prefects of Ravenclaw."

Ari shook Alex's hand. The rest decided that introductions were needed.

"My name is Emily Baker, and I am another prefect."

"My name is Caillen Williams, as I already stated."

The girl next to Ari then went, "My name is Keina Williams."

"I have a feeling that I don't need to introduce myself," Ari stated earning a chuckle from everybody. "However, for those who have been living in the muggle world or under a rock, I am Ari Potter."

"I am Faye Baker. I am Emily's younger sister. I am so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so happy to be here. Sis has been telling me everything ever since we found out that the weird stuff she did as a child was magic. Of course, then we figured that I was doing magic too. We weren't 100% sure though until I received my letter this summer. And then, I kept telling sis that I hope that I wind up in her house, and I did. She of course for some reason didn't want me in Ravenclaw. She said that I was probably a Gryffindor or a Hufflepuff. She seemed quite eager not to have me in her house. The hat said, though, that if it put me in Hufflepuff, the house would more than likely attempt to break into the Headmaster's office to burn it. So, it put me in Ravenclaw. By the way, my name is Faye!"

Everybody looked slack jawed at the hyper little girl. Ari knew for certain now that this was going to be an interesting house to say the least. She looked over at Emily and noticed that she seemed to be asking the sky "why" and then looking at the floor as though asking it to "please just swallow me now." Alex was once again comforting her.

By now, dessert had been served, and the table was clearing itself. The headmaster stood up, and the hall went silent.

"Now that we are all stuffed with that wonderful feast, I have a few more announcements to make. All students who wish to try out for their house Quidditch teams are to report to their head of house or the quidditch captain by the end of the day on Friday. Everybody is also reminded that curfew for first and second years is 8 o'clock; third, fourth, and fifth years 9 o'clock; and sixth and seventh years 10 o'clock. Now, everybody stand, pick your favorite tune and let's sing.

Ari noticed that the teachers' faces all of a sudden became very annoyed. Professor Dumbledore waved his wand and an animated ribbon appeared with the words on it. With that, the school sang.

**Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts**

**Teach us something please,**

**Whether we be old and bald,**

**Or young with scabby knees,**

**Our heads could do with filling,**

**With some interesting stuff,**

**For now they're bare and full of air,**

**Dead flies and bits of fluff,**

**So teach us things worth knowing,**

**Bring back what we've forgot,**

**Just do your best, we'll do the rest,**

**And learn until our brains all rot.**

Ari was one of the first to finish. She sang it to a song that she had heard one time at the music store in the mall. She had been allowed to go because Miss Figg was sick and couldn't take her. Dudley had wanted to go into the store and Ari had decided to go and listen to some music while she could. A man had been singing it in the back of the store. When she asked what is was called. She was told it was called "Two-Faced Lovers". She had never been able to learn the words, but the tune was one of those to get stuck in one's head.

Ari was happy when she was done singing. She didn't like to draw attention to herself. She listened while the rest of the school finished their renditions of the school song, until finally, the last people singing were the Weasley twins. They were singing it to a slow funeral march. Kind of the opposite of what Ari herself had done. Whereas, she had wanted to finish as quickly as possible, they wanted to draw it out for as long as possible. The teachers breathed a sigh of relief once it was over, and Professor Dumbledore clapped most enthusiastically.

"Ahh, nothing is better than music. Now off to bed. Prefects lead the first years away."

Everybody began to get up and head to the doors as one. Older students were heard calling for the first years in all the confusion. The first years looked as though they didn't know where to go, it was all way too confusing.

"Come on Ari. Our prefects are over here," Caillen pulled her out of her observations and pointed towards two people that were gathering the first year Ravenclaws.

"FIRST YEAR RAVENCLAWS OVER HERE! Oh, for crying out loud! FIRST YEARS OVER HERE!" a blonde haired male was calling. He looked as though he was getting annoyed. Next to him, a brunette was chuckling at her partner's misfortunes.

"Honestly Trenton, You should know by now that there is going to be nothing but chaos the first night. That is why we assign the seventh year prefects to this. By now, the 7th years are used to controlling the chaos. Unfortunately, the other houses don't see it this way and assign the 5th year prefects. Those however are not the 7th years. Anyways, FIRST YEARS OVER HERE PLEASE. Preferably before my partner decides that he want to blow something up."

After the 11 Ravenclaw first years had gathered around the prefects, Trenton began to lead them swiftly through the crowds and out of the hall. The other prefect was following the group and making sure that there weren't any stragglers. Ari caught a glimpse of Hermione and Ron being led away by Ron's brother Percy. She made eye contact with Draco and nodded to him. He nodded back, and she knew they were all going to meet up tomorrow morning.

"Follow me, Ravenclaws. Keep up, I would like to get back to the tower sometime tonight."

"Please ignore my grumpy partner. He is not a people person."

The group came to a halt when they came near the first set of stairs. The stairs were moving.

"You will notice no doubt that the stairs are moving. Hogwarts is, of course, a magical school so this is only natural. If the stairs move while you are on them, hang on so that you don't fall off. Then, just wait a few minutes for them to change back to where they were. Better yet, just don't take forever going up and down the stairs, and you should have no reason to wait for the stairs to change back. But of course, that is too much to hope for from first years," the blonde advised in a monotone voice.

The group made its way up to the fifth floor. The stairs changed on them twice, and they had to wait for them to change back. One time, Faye got stuck on a separate staircase from the rest of the group when they suddenly moved. To say that Trenton was not happy would be an understatement.

The group was led up a long winding spiral staircase somewhere on the western side of Hogwarts. While the staircase had entrances to other parts of the castle, the prefect did not lead them through any of them. They made it to the top of the tower and there stood a wooden door. The only thing that was special about this door from what Ari could see was the metal knocker in the shape of an eagle. Trenton knocked once, and the first years jumped when the eagle spoke.

_"You walk into a room with a match, a kerosene lamp, a candle and a fireplace. Which do you light first?"_

"In order to get into the common room, which is in the tower attached to the spiral staircase, you have to answer a riddle. The number of times you knock corresponds to the year you are. If you are unable to answer it, then you have to wait for someone to come who can. Now can anybody answer the riddle?" the girl prefect asked.

"The match." Faye answered. The door swung open.

"That means that you are correct. Now everybody inside." Trenton stated.

They filed into the common room, and Ari instantly knew that this was a place that she could comfortably study. The room was a circle and was very open. There were couches and chairs spread methodically around the room with tables in the middle so that groups could study together. The ceiling was painted with constellations and was dome shaped to make it feel more open. There were blue hangings and maps spread throughout the room. There were also innumerable bookcases. On the other side of the room, Ari noticed that there was an entrance that seemed to lead to a private library for the Ravenclaw students.

"Ok, everybody gather around here please," the female prefect stated as she stood next to a marble statue of a woman.

"We will wait here for the others to arrive before we begin," Trenton added.

They waited a few more minutes before five more people arrived including Emily and Alex.

"Ok, welcome to Ravenclaw. Our head of house, Professor Flitwick, wanted to be here to meet you; however, he had to go solve an issue. Something about regurgitating toilets. Probably the Weasley twins' work. Anyway, my name is Gwen Reed, and I'm going to be one of your seventh year prefects this year. We're just going to quickly explain how Ravenclaw works before we send you on your way to bed. First though, let's introduce ourselves."

"I'm Trenton Raines, and I'm your other seventh year prefect."

"I'm Sivis Thompson, and I'm one of your sixth year prefects."

"Maia Young, sixth year."

"I'm Emily and I am one of the fifth year prefects."

"Hi sis."

Emily ignored Faye.

"Lastly, I am Alex, your other fifth year prefect."

"Now, all of us are available if you have any questions or concerns. You can also ask us for directions if you get lost. However, be warned, as prefects we are also allowed to hand out punishments within the house if we need to," Gwen warned.

"Here in Ravenclaw, we pride ourselves on being among the best students. We are obviously the more studious of the houses. That is why we have been granted a private library. If you cannot find a book here, you can find it in the main library. Now, class hours from 8 to dinner are considered quiet hours. During this time, students who are up here are on free period and should therefore be studying to keep up on the homework. After dinner, until about 11 the common room is open for group studies. If you need help, this is the time to ask the upperclassmen. We are here to help you if you need it, but please bear in mind that we do have homework too," Emily explained.

"Now during this time, we recommend you do study up here, because the library tends to get busy with students from the other houses who actually care about their studies. Check out your books early in the day, and then you can have them up here and ready for you," Alex advised.

"Now, we have one person to introduce you to," said Gwen and a white haired girl stepped forward.

"My name is Serra Stone. While I am not one of your prefects, I do wish to welcome you to Hogwarts and more specifically to the house of Ravenclaw. I am this year's Quidditch captain. While first years are not normally allowed on the team, I just wanted to tell you that we are always looking for new recruits and for the cheering of our house at the games."

"Now, inside the library, there is a door. The staircase that is through that door leads to different floors of the tower that are the dormitories. Boys and girls switch every floor. You guys are lucky and you get last year's seventh year rooms. They are on the first and second floor down the stairs. Girls are on the first and boys are on the second. On this staircase we count floors from the top down. So the first floor is the floor right below the common room and so on. You will find that all of your belongings have already been brought to the tower. Breakfast is served at 7 which gives you an hour to eat and get to your first class. Please try and be on time. Have a good evening," Trenton finished the speech.

By this time, all of the first years were tired and ready for bed. They walked past the statue and through the door to the staircase. The girls went through the door on the first floor and found the area that contained their belongings. The room was divided into 6 separate smaller rooms. The rooms were what muggles referred to as semi-private. There was a central area if they all wanted to get together and hang out, and then, there were six doors that led to the sleeping areas. Each bed was placed in an alcove area and had a window above the bed. Inside the sleeping area was a wardrobe and a desk so that if the students wanted to study by themselves they could. There were also shelves on which to put their belongings. This would be their room for the next 7 years.

The girls found their separate sleeping areas and went to sleep. Though Ari was nervous about what was to come, she fell asleep instantly.

**xXx**


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Ari awoke the next morning confused as to where she was until she saw the blue walls and then all the memories of the night before came back to her. She hoped she would be able to find Ron, Draco, Neville and Hermione at breakfast. She took a look at the clock beside her bed - she had bought it in Diagon Alley in a store that sold magically run radios and clocks - it read 6:30. She remembered that Trenton had told them breakfast was served at 7, so she decided it was probably time for her to start getting ready for the day. Ari climbed out of bed and grabbed her clothes out of the trunk. She took the time to make sure she had everything in her bag that she would need before she climbed the stairs leading to the common room. Once there, she spotted Alex and Emily. Ari knew it would do her absolutely no good to be running around the castle lost when she only had an hour to eat and get to class.

"Good morning, Emily. Good morning, Alex."

Emily didn't hear Ari, because she was too preoccupied searching through her bag for something.

"Morning Ari. How did you sleep? Are you ready for classes today?" Alex questioned after turning around to see who had greeted him.

"I slept fine. I am a little nervous about classes seeing as how I don't exactly know what to expect."

"You will do fine as long as you have at least opened your books. Teachers tend to go easy the first couple of days, especially for the first years," Alex attempted to reassure Ari.

"Oh, ok. I was going to head down to breakfast, but-" Ari said, leaving the sentence hanging.

"You don't remember the way," Alex finished for her, "Don't worry everybody gets lost the first few days. Emily and I were about to head down ourselves. We can show you the way."

"Alex, are you ready?" Emily called. She had finished checking her bag for everything.

"Yeah, Em. We are going to help Ari find the great hall. Honestly, they really need to give some sort of map to the first years."

"Oh, alright. You excited about your classes, Ari?"

"Yep. What classes do first years take?"

"As a first year, the only classes you will take are those that are required. Transfiguration, Charms, History of Magic, Potions, Herbology, Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Astronomy," Emily began to explain, "Once you hit your third year, you can choose electives from Muggle Studies, Arithmancy, Ancient Ruins, Care of Magical Creatures, and Divination. Only at the beginning of your sixth year can you finally drop the required classes depending on what you want to do in the future."

"How are the teachers?"

"Most are fine; however, don't attempt to mess around in Potions or Transfiguration. Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall will not hesitate to take points away if you do. Professor Flitwick's class is a good place to talk as long as you make sure to work while you do. While you can get away with it, I would also recommend not messing around in Herbology. It's not that Professor Sprout is terribly strict or anything, but some of those plants can cause serious harm. Other than that the teachers are pretty much do your work and pay attention and you are fine," Alex reassured Ari.

"Do yourself a favor though and don't even bother with Divination," Alex advised.

"Why?"

"The subject is useless in most career paths, and the teacher is an obvious fraud."

"Ignore his attitude, Ari. He made the mistake of taking the course and sorely regretted it later. No Ravenclaw ever takes that class, or at least none get past the first class before transferring out."

While this whole conversation was going on, Ari made sure to pay attention to where they were going. She noticed that Emily and Alex weren't leading her down any of the secret passages that Trenton had led them through the night before - not that she remembered where any of them were. They stuck to the main hallways. And while they were more busy, Ari was grateful. She could learn the secret passages and short cuts later. Right now, she just wanted to know where she was supposed to be ending up so that she could work her way from there. After walking for about ten minutes and being stared at by more people than was comfortable, they arrived at the Great Hall.

Any hope that Ari had of being able to be normal had officially been crushed. The stares in the halls had been creepy but now as she walked into the Great Hall beside the two prefects, Ari got the feeling that they were expecting her to do a trick. She sat down as quickly as possible and began to fill a plate with food. Looking down the table she noted that Faye, Caillen and Keina were sitting further down the table. It looked as though Faye and Keina were becoming great friends and Caillen just wanted to get away.

She noticed now that she was sitting in the midst of the prefects. It wasn't that she cared, she had just continued to follow Emily and Alex when they had sat down. Looking at the food around her, she knew she would love to actually be able to enjoy it; however, she knew she would not be able to eat as much as the others for a few days, if not weeks, because of how tiny her stomach was. She grabbed a muffin and a banana.

"Morning, Ari!" a voice exclaimed behind her.

Ari turned around to see that Hermione and Ron had decided to sit at the Gryffindor table right behind her. Hermione was grabbing books out of her bag while Ron was trying to shove as much food onto his plate as would fit. He then proceeded to shove as much of it into his mouth as he could get to fit.

"Morning, Hermione. Umm... Ron, I would take it easy; you don't want to choke."

"Im dng fin. Ou hv nned twory!" came Ron's response. Ari was able to get the gist of what he was trying to say.

"Ewwww! Don't you know better than to talk with food in your mouth? It is considered highly rude," a blonde girl squealed. Ari recognized her from the night before. She was one of the first first years to be sorted yesterday.

"Yeah, Weasel, show some sense of decorum. Nobody wants to see the food after it has been in your mouth," came a voice that could only belong to Draco. Ari turned around and sure enough the young Malfoy heir was heading their way. Ron sent a glare at Draco, and continued to shovel food into his mouth.

"Morning, Draco!" Ari called as he came closer their tables and sat down next to her.

"Morning. So how's the Raven's nest?" Draco questioned as he began to make a plate of food.

The prefects sitting around them were looking at the group of first years weirdly. They had never seen a group of students from all four houses get along. What was even more weird was besides a jab and a glare, the Gryffindors and the Slytherin boy were not trying to kill each other. Looking at each other, they made a decision to keep an eye on the group of kids and make sure nothing bad came of them, trying to maintain their friendship. However, they would step in if the group turned on one another, which is what normally occurred.

"Awesome! I love all the books, the beds are comfy and there are plenty of places to study either privately or in a group. How is the Snake pit?"

"Comfortable. Professor Snape talked to us before we went to bed and he explained how staying in Slytherin was going to work."

"Yeah, our prefects did the same thing. Professor Flitwick couldn't because he was taking care of something. I believe that Gwen said something about regurgitating toilets."

"Ok, that is gross. So, Hermione, since your mouth is the only one not shoved with food, how is the Lion's den?"

"Oh, I love it! Of course if it contained the books that Ari mentioned I would be all the more happy. Otherwise, it is quite comfortable. Does anybody have any ideas what classes are today? I didn't know so I just brought all my books with me."

"Just breath, umm... I'm sorry, I don't know your name," the prefect Maia said from down the table.

"Oh, sorry. My name is Hermione."

"Right then, Hermione, just relax. You really aren't going to need your books for today and probably tomorrow. All that the teachers are going to do is explain what the class is and what is expected. Teachers don't expect first years to have their books with them and to know when to expect their classes. The classes pretty much stay on the same day throughout all seven years. However, in your third year some of your free periods will be taken over by electives."

"That makes sense. So when do we receive our schedules?"

"Professor McGonagall should be coming around soon with them for you."

Right as Maia said that, four teachers stood up and began to make their way down to the tables. Draco stood up abruptly and grabbed his bag.

"I need to go get my schedule. Meet up in the Entrance Hall and we can quickly compare schedules." With that, he walked off towards the Slytherin table.

"Miss Potter," a high pitched squeaky voice called. Ari turned around to look towards the teachers' table but saw nobody. She looked over at Hermione who was gesturing downwards while trying not to laugh.

Ari looked down and saw a short teacher with pointy ears like the goblins at the bank. She realized that this must be Professor Flitwick.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, Professor."

"No problem, no problem. It happens all the time. Now here is your schedule. Go to the classes under Tuesday today. When you finish eating, I would get moving."

"Yes, sir."

"Come on, Ari."

Hermione grabbed both Ari and Ron and started to drag them out of the Great Hall. Ari barely managed to grab her bag. She decided that fighting against being dragged wasn't going to help; in fact, it would probably make it so that she wound up on her face on the ground. So she decided to walk at Hermione's pace. Outside the Great Hall, they met up with not only Draco but Neville as well.

"Hey, Nev!" Ari called out.

"Morning, Ari."

"Ok, let's compare schedules. We don't want to be late to our first classes," Hermione dictated.

"Professor Flitwick said to follow the Tuesday schedule since today is Tuesday."

The five of them all placed their schedules on the ground next to each other so that they could compare them all at the same time. As it turned out, some of the classes lined up and they had a lot of free periods. Gryffindors and Ravenclaws had potions together, Ravenclaws and Slytherins had defense together, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had herbology together, Gryffindors and Slytherins had herbology together, Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs had defense together, and Slytherins and Hufflepuffs had potions together.

"Don't get too used to the free periods. Apparently that is where the electives that we pick go come third year."

"How did you find that out?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I talked to Emily and Alex as they led me down to the Great Hall."

"Well it looks like we only have double classes together," Neville pointed out.

"Hey! Get a move on unless you want to be late!" Ron's older brother, Percy, the prefect yelled.

"Ok, so what do we have first?" Ron questioned.

"Neville, Draco you guys had better go. You guys have to get to potions. Ron, you and I need to head to History of Magic with Professor Binns. And Ari, you start off with a free period."

"NO FAIR!" quips Ron.

With that, they all ran off to their individual classes. Ari decided that she didn't see a reason to go to Ravenclaw Tower just to have to leave again, so, she decided to take a walk until her first class at 9.

The day progressed quite smoothly from there. Professor Flitwick took attendance and upon arriving at Ari's name, he toppled off his pile of books and out of sight. The class had a good laugh but then groaned when they found out that the first month would be filled with mostly theory and very little practical. They were given a safety lesson in Herbology. Ari and Neville decided to be partners in that class. Turned out Neville had a knack for plants and took care of a greenhouse when he was a kid. Defense Against the Dark Arts was a joke. Ari had known when she met him in Diagon Alley that his classes would be annoying; however, she had had no idea exactly how annoying Professor Quirrell's stutter was going to be.

Draco passed Ari a note about 20 minutes into attempting to translate what their professor was saying.

_'If I have to listen to this the entire year, I think I am going to lose it!'_

'I know what you mean. I don't see how we are supposed to learn a thing from a guy that is afraid of his own shadow. Do you smell something funny?'

_'Yeah, it's him. What ever he has under that turban stinks.'_

'I know. Hopefully he washes it soon. That stench is enough to put anybody off thei…'

"M-M-Miss P-Potter. C-Can you answer the qu-question?" Professor Quirrell's voice pulled her away from what she was writing to Draco.

"Sorry Professor, I didn't quite understand the question. Could you please repeat it?'

'W-W-What are the different types of sp-spells?"

"Jinxes, hexes, curses, charms, healing spells, protective enchantments, dark arts, and transfigurations."

"Ve-very good Miss P-Potter. T-Take five p-points for Ra-Ravenclaw."

Ari looked down to continue her note and saw the note being slipped back to her.

_'Know it all.'_

'Hey! At least I don't act like I swallowed a set of encyclopedias.'

_'A set of what?'_

'Never mind. Ask Hermione.'

_'No way! I am not that desperate.'_

At that time, Professor Quirrell had them begin to take notes so they had to stop passing them. But hey, they had found a way to get through two hours of boredom twice a week. Yay!

The next morning, Hermione told them all some great news that she had found out from Professor McGonagall. So long as they didn't cause any issues, students from different houses could sit together at meals. It was meant to promote school unity.

So, the group decided to sit at the Ravenclaw table. To make it easy to remember, they would switch tables every week in the order Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and then finally Slytherin. They put that house last, because it was probably going to be the most hostile. The group now consisted of Hermione, Ron, Draco. Neville, Ari, Faye, Keina, and Caillen. Ari had been trying to get to know her three fellow Ravenclaws the night before and had invited them to join the group at meals.

"Ok, so what does everybody have on today's itinerary?" Hermione asked. She liked to know everybody's schedules because apparently it helped organize homework schedules and study groups.

"Umm..double potions, history of magic, and transfiguration. Guess I finally get to see if Professor Snape is as biased as everybody says he is." Ari answered with Caillen nodding. He too was curious if the rumors were true.

"He is. If Slytherin is in the class, he favors them; however, if not, then he is fair to any house that is not Gryffindor," Ron answered, "My brothers explained it to me to warn me."

"So then, I should be fine. It is you and Hermione that need to worry."

"Oh, hahaha. None of that will help you though if you don't take notes and study for the class. Ok, well Ron and I have double potions, double defense and double herbology."

"Ouch. I have nothing but sympathy for you two. All your doubles in one day. Ummm….just a warning…. that is if you want it," Neville began to stammer.

"Go ahead, Nevile. What do you want to warn us about?" Ari inquired.

Neville had confidence issues. Ari hoped that as he grew older he would become more sure of himself.

"Read the directions carefully. That is. If you want to avoid Professor Snape yelling at you. Make sure you read the directions more than once."

"Yeah, Neville messed up yesterday, blew up a cauldron, got injured and got a lecture all in the course of about five minutes. Anyways, I have charms, history of magic, transfiguration, herbology and astronomy. Ugh, looks like a sleepless night for me tonight." Draco answered. He had seen the accident in Potions even though he had been partnered with Blaise Zabini. It was a simple mistake to make, but it was also an easy one to avoid.

"Don't worry Professor Sinistra won't keep you long tonight. She is just going to explain what to expect in class and assign a reading assignment. You should be back in your dorm no later than 10."

"And you know this how, Granger?" Draco snapped

"Gryffindors had the class last night," Hermione answered shortly, a little upset at being called by her last name.

"Well sorry for not memorizing everybody's schedules."

"I am only trying to help. If you don't want it just say so, Malfoy."

"I don't need your help. It is only the second day of classes. More than likely you would learn our schedules anyway without trying, because they are going to be the same for the NEXT SEVEN YEARS!"

"Umm….guys…"

"WHAT!"

"Eeep! Umm it is time to go class, and Professor McGonagall looks like she is about to come yell at you guys," Neville squeaked while sinking lower and lower into his seat.

Sure enough, the fierce lioness herself was making her way over to them. Ari got the feeling that she could sense a fight about to break out before the people involved even knew that they were going to fight.

"Is everything alright over here?"

"Yes, Professor. Hermione and Draco were just expressing opposing opinions in the hopes of better understanding the ongoing feud between the magical and muggle world," Ari spewed off the top of her head.

To say that the professor looked shocked would be an understatement. Never before had she heard a response like that said without sarcasm or a hint of lying. The others in the group were trying to look as though that is what was being discussed but were just as shocked as Professor McGonagall at Ari's lie.

Professor McGonagall composed herself, "Yes, well move along class starts in about 12 minutes and you don't want to be late." With that stated, she walked away leaving the group to turn on Ari.

"You just lied to a teacher!" Hermione exclaimed in absolute shock.

"Yeah, and your point? I probably just saved you and Draco from losing points or worse detention for fighting in the Great Hall."

"As noble as your intentions were, Ari," Caillen stated as he got up to leave, "You should not have lied to Professor McGonagall."

The group headed off to their classes with Ari walking down to the dungeons with Hermione, Ron, Faye, Caillen, and Keina. They arrived just as Professor Snape was letting the class into the classroom.

The room was dark, cold and musty. It kind of reminded Ari of a cave. The only thing missing was a bat hovering around. There were ten tables each with two burners. It looked to Ari as though this was another class that they would be working in groups in. The walls were lined with shelves filled with jars. The jars were filled with objects that, to be honest, looked absolutely creepy. It looked like preserved human and animal bits. Ari chose not to focus on it.

The class stood along a wall to the side. They made no move to take a seat, and this turned out to be a wise move. At 8 on the dot, Professor Snape came sweeping into the classroom. Ari believed she had just found the missing bat.

"You will take your seats when I call your name. Sit at the table I point to. No, you cannot ask to be moved or to switch. Weasley, Boot; Thomas, Corner; Finnigan, Cornfoot; Baker, Granger; Padma Patil, Brown; Turpin, Parvati Patil; Li, Moon; Goldstein, Caillen Williams; Potter, Keina Williams. These will be your groups. No complaining."

"I do not expect all of you to enjoy the patient art that is potion brewing; however, I expect you all to respect it. Anybody caught sabotaging a potion will be dismissed with the minimum of a weeks worth of detentions before you can even begin to stutter 'sorry.' While in this class you are expected to turn in your homework on time and of a reasonable quality. You are expected to read ahead for the days' lessons, and you are expected to owl order any additional supplies that you might need before you need them. I do question students to make sure they have read. Potter!"

"Yes, sir?" Ari got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Stand."

Ari stood. Now she knew that she was not looking forward to what was about to occur.

"What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Ari was surprised. She hadn't expected to be questioned 10 minutes into class. This question wasn't even covered in the first year potions book. However, she had found it in a more advanced potions book that she had purchased.

"Well, Miss Potter?"

"Draught of the living dead, Sir."

"Where would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?"

Again, Ari knew the answer, and at least this answer was in the first year book; albeit at the very end.

"The stomach of a goat, sir."

"What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Ari decided to jump right into the answer. Hopefully he would be done interrogating her knowledge soon.

"They are different names for the same plant that also goes by the name aconite, Sir."

"Sit down, Miss Potter and five points for Ravenclaw. That is what all of you can expect throughout the coming years. I will question you to make sure you have read. Now let's begin. The directions are on the board. You have until the end of the double period to finish the potion."

The class rushed to get the ingredients and begin to prepare. Keina and Ari quickly came up with a strategy to save time. Ari set up the stations and got the cauldrons ready and Keina went and retrieved the supplies that they needed from the student cupboard. The rest of the class went uneventfully and before they knew it Professor Snape was telling them to put some of their potion into a vial, pack up and leave.

Ari and the others made their way to their next class. Which according to the older students was taught by a boring, droning ghost by the name of Professor Binns. History turned out to be even more boring than Defense and within five minutes, the entire class was asleep. Afterwards, Ari had to hand it to Professor Binns; anybody who is able to put eleven of the most studious students to sleep by merely doing attendance has a gift.

The next couple weeks continued much like the first few days of school. The group continued to eat together at meals. Ari was still being stared at in the halls. Ari, Hermione, and Faye had all become accustomed to the owl deliveries at breakfast. The first time she had seen it, Ari had jumped when she heard a voice that wasn't Hedwig.

 _"So it is true. A daughter of Lady Wisdom is here."_ The voice came from Draco's Eagle Owl.

 _"Of course it is true. Hedwig told us she was here. Not to mention we all saw her on the train here."_ The great grey owl who had dropped off a package for Nevile responded.

Ari just stared at the owls. She knew that she could not say anything to them in public, let alone in the middle of breakfast at the Great Hall. To get them to get the hint, she gave them a piece of bacon each and sent them on their way.

By now, Ari was accustomed to being spoken to by the owls of her friends every time they delivered something. This morning was no exception accept Hedwig joined them. She could hear them arguing as they came into sight.

_"I don't care. You are still not supposed to do that."_

_"Oh, come on, Hedwig."_

_"No. Here is your letter, m'lady. He wants a response."_

Ari decided she was going to have to talk to the owls about conversations at breakfast. So she decided to talk to Hedwig; in human speech of course.

"I am going to come up later, girl. I have some new treats for you. How does that sound?"

Hedwig gave what could be considered by most a content chirp; however, Ari knew what it meant.

_"Oh no. Archimedes, Merlin, I think we are in trouble."_

_"Why?"_

_"Because m'lady has a look in her eyes like she is less than thrilled with us."_

_"Oh, don't be so paranoid. No daughter of wisdom would hurt an owl._ "

At that comment, Ari finished writing her response to Hagrid's letter.

"Here, Hedwig. Take it there and then get some rest."

_"Yes, m'lady."_

Hedwig flew off with Archimedes and Merlin following her. Hermione turned to Ari wondering who the letter was from. Ari got the hint. Despite her attempts, Hermione was not good at hiding what she was thinking about.

"The letter was from Hagrid. He wants me to stop by after classes today. He says I can bring some friends along if I want to. However, I think that I am going to stop by the Owlery and give some new treats to Hedwig after I visit Hagrid. I will go after dinner."

"Ummm….Ari. If you don't mind, can I come?" Neville asked.

"Yeah, no problem. Does anybody else want to come?"

"I have astronomy tonight so I can't." Draco answered.

In the end, it was only Ari, Hermione, Ron, and Neville who went to Hagrid's after dinner. When they neared the door, Ari was attacked by Hagrid's boarhound.

"Ah, get back, Fang. You leave Ari alone."

Hermione helped Ari up after Fang got off of her. The group went inside and Hagrid began to make some tea. He offered them some stone cakes which they quickly refused having been warned about them by Fred and George.

"I was wondering if ya had forgotten 'bout me. So I decided ta see if ya been wantin' to com' for some tea."

"No, it's not that we didn't want to see you, it's just that we have had difficulty making sure to get all of our homework done. Plus, we only just got the hang of getting around without getting lost. Honestly, somebody should have made a map of the school," Ari attempted to reassure the kind giant of a man that it had nothing to do with him.

Ari then noticed that there was some sort of newspaper on the table.

"Hey, Hagrid, can I look at that?"

"Yeh, no problem. Just talkin' about the ministry messin' up again'."

"Ministry?"

"The Ministry of Magic. They're in charge of making sure that we remain undetected by the muggles. They are also in charge of making laws, keeping control of magical creatures, and holding trials if somebody is accused of a crime," Ron explained upon seeing both Ari and Hermione confused.

"Well, that does make sense. I mean, you pretty much have a community of people here. So it stands to reason that there needs to be laws and people to make those laws if it is to all run smoothly," Hermione reasoned. Ari was nodding. It did make sense when one thought about it.

Ari took a close look at the newspaper and one article in particular caught her attention. According to the article, somebody attempted to break in and steal from Gringotts on Ari's birthday. She had to wonder who would be stupid enough to attempt that. She knew from just one look at the goblins that they would not show mercy to anybody they caught trying to steal from the bank.

"Hey guys, what do you know of the attempted break in at the bank. It says that vault 713 was broken into; however, nothing was stolen because it had been emptied earlier that day."

"Wow, that's one of the high security vaults," Ron exclaimed. He went on to explain what he knew since his brother worked for Gringotts.

"Vaults 0-399 are for witches and wizards opening their first bank account. They are mostly muggleborns. However, not all muggleborns chose to open an account at Gringotts. Also, you have to remember that this is the bank for the UK. Each country has its own and some have more than one branch due to how large they are. Anyways, vaults 400-599 are for wizarding families that are not muggle born but are also not considered among our nobility."

"The ancient, noble, ancient and noble, most ancient and noble, and the most ancient and most noble houses," Ari answered.

"Yeah," Ron looked at her surprised. "How did you know that?"

"A book on etiquette and another on the history of the magic world. Now continue. You are explaining something that you actually know that Hermione and I don't."

Anyways, the vaults in the 600's are for those noble families to create trust funds for their children until they are older and either take over the family vaults or if they are not the heir can create their own vault. Vaults in the 700's are the high security vaults and then all vaults after that belong to the nobility families." Ron finished his explanation.

Hermione then turned on Ari. "So what are those nobility classifications you read about. They all sounded the same."

"They may all sound the same but they aren't. The Most ancient and Most Noble houses are the highest ranking as they were the first families blessed by Hecate, and they were given more powerful magic. As such, there are only five of them; Potter, Black, Greengrass, Longbottom, and Bones. The Most Ancient and Noble houses were blessed at the same time as the Most Ancient and Most Noble houses; however, they were not made as powerful. Instead, their powers are about what you see from most ordinary witches and wizards. The Ancient and Noble houses were blessed in the second blessing or they are the result of a marriage between a house classified as Most Ancient and they have at least 100,000 galleons to their name. The Ancient houses were those blessed in the second blessing or those that are the merging through marriage of upper two classes but don't have a lot of money. Finally the Noble houses are more recent houses that have at least 100,000 galleons. After that you have the families that are of mixed blood; in other words people from the nobility that married muggleborns. You then have the muggleborn families and finally the squibs."

"Wow, it took years for my parents to finally explain to me why we are classified as Ancient. Apparently one of my ancestors gambled away a good portion of the family money."

"Ari, can I borrow that book?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah. However, doesn't it seem like a stroke of luck for the vault that somebody tried to rob had already been emptied?"

"Nah, tha' would be Professor Dumbledore. He 'ad me go an' pick up the item,." Hagrid said not seeming to realize what he was saying.

"Really! What was it?" Ari questioned.

It was then that Hagrid realized what he had just said in front of the group of students.

"Now don't ya be diggin' into stuff that don't concern ya. It is nothin' for ya ta be worrin' about."

The kids decided to drop the topic seeing as how Hagrid wasn't going to say anymore than he had accidentally let slip. It was about an hour later that the group made their way back up to the castle. Once they reached the Entrance Hall, they went their separate ways. Hermione and Ron went to Gryffindor tower, because Hermione wanted to get started on some homework that was due next week. Neville headed towards the dungeons and Hufflepuff dormitory. Ari decided that it was time to go and have a talk with a certain group of owls.

Ari entered the owlery about 10 minutes later and was greeted by screeches of welcome from the owls that resided there.

Ari noticed Hedwig was trying to stay out of sight and called up to her.

"Hedwig, you have 5 seconds to get down here with Archimedes and Merlin."

Said three owls made their way down to the daughter of their mistress.

"Hedwig, I know that you remember what Professor Snape said about me talking to you in public. That means that you really can't be trying to hold a conversation with me."

_"Yes, m'lady. I am sorry."_

"It's ok, Hedwig. Now you two. The same rules apply. Talk in private not in public."

_"Yes, ma'am."_

“Now one of you called me a daughter of Lady Wisdom. Can somebody explain that to me?"

_"I can. It's very simple. It means that you are…"_

_"Now you be silent, Merlin. I am sorry, m'lady, but we cannot tell you. You have to discover the answer to that question yourself."_

_"And why is that, Hedwig?"_

_"Because Lady Magic said so. She made Lady Wisdom and Lord Spontaneity promise that you have to discover for yourself who you are. "_

"Well, I already know that they are my parents."

_"How did you figure that out, m'lady?"_

"The sorting hat kind of told me. And, for crying out loud, call me Ari."

_"Of course, m'lady."_

Ari sighed, exasperated that her owl refused to call her by her name.

 _"If I may, Lady Ari,"_ Merlin asked for permission and Ari nodded at him. _"I would recommend that for right now not stressing about it. Answers tend to come more easily when you are not looking for them. Somebody will eventually come along who can give you some answers."_

Ari nodded, accepting his advice. She knew that she wasn't going to get anything from Hedwig. Even though she now knew that Hedwig knew the answers to her questions. Then another question came to mind.

"Hedwig how do you know so much about me? You only met me when you delivered the letter from Professor Snape. Also, you lied to me when I asked you if you knew why I could understand you. Didn't you?"

The owl had enough sense to look ashamed of herself. She had been caught in lying to her little mistress.

_"Yes, m'lady. I did lie to you. I know why you can understand me; however, I am not allowed to tell you. I am sorry, m'lady."_

"It's Ari, Hedwig. The answer to my other question?"

_"I know so much about you, m'lady, because I know Lady Wisdom. She and Lord Spontaneity might not be permitted to interfere, m'lady, but they have always tried to watch over you. It was Lady Wisdom that sent me to the man of bad disposition so that I could send the letter to you."_

"You know my mom?"

_"Yes, m'lady."_

"Ari, Hedwig. My name is Ari. Please use it. What is my mom like?"

_"She is a wonderful lady, m'lady. She eagerly awaits when you realize who you are and can final meet."_

Just then the bells tolled outside. It told Ari that it was time she was returning to her dorm before she was in trouble. However, now she had more to think about.

**oOo**


	9. Chapter 8

**Can you answer my riddle?**

**Beta’d by Lady of Something**

**xXx**

**Chapter 8**

Ari arrived back at her dormitory a few minutes before curfew. The riddle to get in had been simple enough. _If I drink, I die. If I eat, I'm fine. What am I?_ She didn't need much thought to answer it. She had finished her homework during her three hour break between lunch and transfiguration. Apparently, first and second years had a lot of free time; however, come third year that free time would be taken over by electives. It was meant to get them started on learning how to manage their time properly.

Ari walked into the giant Ravenclaw library and began to search for a book. She had finished the books she had purchased in Diagon Alley for background reading. Now, she wanted to read more about the Olympians. They were repeatedly mentioned in the texts that mentioned Hecate. She felt the knowledge was important to her somehow.

Eventually, she found a book entitled _Gods, Goddesses, Kings, and Heroes: A History of Those That Created, Ruled, and Protected the Ancient Land, Greece_. It was a very long winded title; however, it would do for the purpose that Ari needed it for. It was a thick, heavy book. It basically contained every legend, tale and rumor of the ancient gods, kings and heroes. Ari figured that if it fulfilled her purposes maybe she would go and find a copy of the book for herself.

The only things about the gods that she knew were what she had learned in Muggle primary school, which wasn't much. It meant that she knew the names of the Olympians and a few of the major minor gods. She knew the tales of Kronos and him eating his kids, Prometheus and his punishment, Athena and the cursing of Medusa, Athena and the cursing of Arachne and Poseidon and the Minotaur. She knew of the trials of Hercules (Heracles), the journey of Odysseus, the victories of Theseus, Jason, Perseus, and Orion, and the death of said heroes. Most of this was from background information she had obtained from the local library when she had been able to sneak out of the house on Privet Drive for a few hours. By checking out some books, she had something to do when she was locked in her cupboard (now bedroom). She had always made sure to take every opportunity to return the books first chance she got so that they would not be late.

Anyways, she took the book down to her dorm so that she could enjoy a few of the legends before going to bed for the night. She started from the beginning of the universe and the births of Chaos, Gaia, Tartarus, and Eros.

After classes the next day, Ari arrived in the dormitory to find the other first years gathered around the notice board. She walked over and saw that Faye was the only one excited; the rest had a sort of resigned look to them. The notice was about flying lessons that would start next week.

**First Years!**

**All First Years are hereby notified that starting next week Flying Lessons will begin. Please see your schedule for the time in which you will be expected to attend this class. The only students exempt are those that are on the Quidditch team. At the end of first year, the class will be removed from your schedule.**

**Thank you,**

**Professor McGonagall**

**Deputy Headmistress, Head of the House of Gryffindor**

"Well, that's unexpected," Ari stated conversationally.

"Unexpected! They expect us to learn to hover 50 feet off the ground with nothing but a piece of wood keeping us up!" Terry Boot all but yelled. The rest of her year-mates were looking just as put out.

“What's worse is that this is not something we can learn from a book. This is something that is completely hands on," Lisa Turpin added.

"Ok, what's going on, and why do you all look as though somebody just killed your owls?" Emily asked coming over with Serra and a boy Ari had only seen around the common room.

Ari pointed at the notice on the board. The three upper years took one look and started laughing.

"That's what has you all so worried?" the boy asked through his chuckles. The girls still laughing too hard to talk.

The group nodded mutely.

"That's nothing to worry about. Madame Hooch is a wonderful teacher. She is also is the referee for all Quidditch matches," Serra began to explain.

"Quidditch?" Faye questioned.

"It's a wizarding sport that is played on broomsticks. Here at Hogwarts, each house has a team and captains are chosen from the upper years. This year I am captain, as I said that first night. However, our team won't stand much of a chance if I don't find a decent replacement for seeker," Serra explained but near the end she started to just sound put upon. It looked as though finding a seeker was turning into a right challenge.

"So who is on the team?" Ari questioned. She was honestly curious.

"OH!" Serra exclaimed. Ari knew then that she had probably just asked the sort of question that would have Serra explaining everything to do with all the players. "Well there is me. I am the Keeper. The chasers are Alex Hale, Cho Chang, and Gwen Reed. Our beaters are Trenton Raines and Torrence here." At this point, she pointed to the boy that had come over with her and Emily.

"Wait, aren't three of those people also prefects?" Caillen asked.

"Yes. That doesn't matter though. As long as they stay on top of their homework and manage their schedules properly they can do both. So, what day do you get to try out a broom for the first time?"

"Next Wednesday, the class before dinner. We have it with Slytherin," Ari promptly answered. Truth be told she was excited. She didn't know why. Maybe because there was something in her telling her that she could get in so much trouble for just leaving the ground.

"Well, good luck," With that Torrence, Emily, and Serra walked off. The first years dispersed to go and talk about their upcoming doom on a broom. Ari decided that she didn't want to listen to all the negativity and went to her dorm. She had finished the legend of the creation of the universe and earth. Tonight she was going to read about the Titanomachy.

The next morning at breakfast was very much the same as yesterday evening up in the common room. The main difference was that here there were first years from all four houses freaking out over next week's lessons.

"You guys do realize that there is really nothing to worry about. I mean yeah it will be your first time on a broom, but it really isn't that bad. People like Weasel and I have been doing it since we were little. If he can do it, you should have no problem."

"Ferret's right. Most people here have been on one at least once and are more than willing to help those that haven't. Plus Madame Hooch will be there watching. There is no way anybody is going to get hurt. Ari, you have Draco in your class. Neville and Hermione, you guys have me."

"That doesn't make me feel better," Hermione muttered under her breath so that only Ari and Neville heard her.

Ari then realized something super important.

"YOU TWO JUST AGREED!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

The rest of the group looked shocked as the realization that Ron and Draco had actually agreed on something.

"No, we didn't," they stated together. The group started laughing.

"Yes you did. And, you just did it again." Ari laughed.

"No, we didn't," they looked at each other.

"Stop that!" again together.

"No, you stop that!" and again.

"How about you both stop it? And no need to yell, Potter!" a Hufflepuff prefect reprimanded. This was their third week of eating as a group and as such, they were at the Hufflepuff table. This is after a week of eating at the Gryffindor table and having the Weasley twins trying to get them to help with pranks. By now, some of the group was laughing so hard, they were crying. Some of the surrounding Hufflepuffs were also trying to stop laughing.

Ari knew that their group was being watched closely by not only the prefects but also by the teachers. Apparently no group of friends that was made up of kids from all four houses had been able to stay together through all seven years of school. They also tended to break up in painful and hurtful ways. Ari looked up at the teacher's table and sure enough, Professor Snape was looking right at her. She raised an eyebrow at him as if to say, 'what?'

He raised his eyebrow to respond, 'You know what.'

Ari shrugged, 'Whatever, we aren't doing anything wrong.'

At that point, he looked away and seemed to engage in a conversation with Professor Dumbledore.

Ari tuned back into the conversation that was still on flying. Hermione had apparently taken it upon herself when she heard about the flying lessons, to go and check out _Quidditch Through the Ages_. She was now giving advice on how to stay on a broom. Neville, being as nervous as he was, was taking in all the advice that he could.

Classes were running as well as could be expected. They were working on changing their needles back into toothpicks. So far, only Ari and Keina had managed it. However, Faye and Caillen were close. Faye just needed to focus more.

In charms, they were still learning the theory of the first spells that they would be trying. They were being told stories of what could happen if one mispronounces a word or changes a letter. Ari wondered who was going to be the person stupid enough to try and summon the buffalo.

History was still putting everybody to sleep and Defense was still pointless. Ari and Draco were still passing notes in class. They included funny drawing, witty comments, and of course, criticism of their cowardly teacher was in abundance.

_'Can I leave? Oh, please can I leave? I can't take much more of this s-s-stammering. It is driving me n-nu-nuts!'_

'You will stay put. Leave me alone in this class, and I will take a page out of Fred and George's book. You won't find peace for the next month!'

_'You wouldn't dare!'_

'Try me! They are apparently very eager to teach me how to prank. Leave me with this nut, and I will take them up on their offers.'

It was conversations like this that got them through that class. Potions was going ok. Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan liked to try and play games in class - they had blown up more than a few potions. Finally, in Herbology, they were learning about Devils Snare. It was a very tricky plant. Luckily, they were not actually handling it. Professor Sprout brought it to class to show them. However, she kept them well away from it.

All too soon, the class that the first years were both fearing and anticipating arrived. The Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs had their flying lessons on Tuesday. From what the group got out of Hermione and Ron, Neville had been nervous about being left on the ground and had taken off too quickly. The broom lost control, and he fell. He broke his wrist. Madame Pomfrey was keeping him till before curfew to make sure that nothing else is wrong. The Slytherins at the table found this extremely funny.

"Oh, shut up. Like any of you did any better your first time of a broom," Ari snapped. If there was one thing she would not stand it was somebody making fun of one of her friends.

"Actually, Potter, most of us have been on a broom since we could walk. There are children's brooms made for that," Pansy sneered. "However, you wouldn't know that being raised by muggles."

"You're right I wouldn't. Because, my parents died when I was one."

That shut the table up. That reminded everybody just why Ari Potter had to be raised by muggles instead of as an aristocratic girl like she was supposed to be. Many felt pity for the girl; however, she didn't want it. Pity didn't do anybody any good.

Flying lessons arrived quicker than Ari would have liked for them to. She was nervous. Something kept telling her that she should keep her feet planted firmly on the ground. However, she really didn't have a choice. This was a required class.

The first year Slytherins and Ravenclaws arrived at the training grounds about five minutes before class started. This was the last class for the Ravens but the Snakes still had astronomy later that night. The first thing that all of them noticed were the two rows of nine brooms lying on the ground.

"Alright! Everybody step to the left side of a broom," a lady that looked like a human hawk called as she marched swiftly towards them.

They all did as she said.

'My name is Madame Hooch. Welcome to your first flying lessons. Now these classes are once a week. If you are proficient enough at the end of your first year, then you will not have to continue these classes later. Now, hold your right hand over your broom and say up."

Ari did so. Her broom was among the first to go straight up into her hands. Draco's also jumped right up. They grinned at each other, agreeing on one thing. This was was going to be fun.

It took about ten minutes for everybody to get their brooms to leave the ground. Ari had a feeling it was because most of them wanted to stay on the ground.

"Once you have a hold of your broom, I want you to mount. Please be sure to keep a firm grip on it. You don't want to be sliding off the end of it once you are in the air."

She went around to make sure that everybody had a firm enough grip. She had to correct the grips of Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle. It was funny to watch Pansy try and argue with Madame Hooch.

"Alright, on my whistle you will push off from the ground, hard. Hover for a moment to get used to the feeling, then lean forward slightly and touch back down. We have already had one broken wrist so be careful. No funny tricks."

Madame Hooch blew her whistle, and as one, the 18 students were suddenly airborne. The feeling of being in the air was wonderful. For the first time since she could remember, Ari felt truly free. She decided that she needed to land before she decided to do something foolish. She touched back down smoothly.

"Well done, Miss Potter. Ten points to Ravenclaw."

One by one, the students made their way to the ground. Eventually the only two in the air were Pansy and Faye. Both came down to land at the same time; however, Pansy wasn't exactly straight. Her broom knocked into Faye's. Suddenly, Faye's broom was taking off across the field with her as an unwilling passenger.

"HEEEEELLLLLPPPPP!"

Madame Hooch took off running after the girl on the run-away broom. Not even bothering to tell the rest of the class to stay put. Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle burst out laughing.

"Wow. Did you see her face when the broom suddenly took off again? I didn't mean to do that, but I wish I had. It was just too funny."

"Shut up, Pansy," Ari snapped. "Faye could be seriously hurt because of that."

"And who's going to make me, Potter. Last I checked only Gryffindors are this foolishly reckless. So, why don't you go and read a book?"

"Really, I thought that Slytherins were supposed to be sly and cunning. Attacking from the shadows and not where anybody and everybody can see them. If either of us is acting the part of a foolish lion, it would be you."

SLAP! The sound resounded across the training grounds. Everybody just stared at the Parkinson heiress, not believing what she had just done .

"You will not insult me, Potter," Pansy spat, "I am the heiress of the Ancient and Noble house of Parkinson."

"If we are pulling rank, then mine is higher than yours since I am the heiress of the Most Ancient and Most Noble house of Potter. Mine outranks yours," Ari answered calmly looking Pansy straight in the eyes, "Now, back off."

Everybody who knew what they were talking about inhaled sharply and took a big step back. They took those who didn't know with them and began to explain quietly what Ari meant by she pulled rank. Draco was watching closely. He knew who he would back if it came down to it. He just hoped that it didn't. He decided to try and calm Pansy down.

"Pansy, stop. You have already struck an heiress of a house higher than yours. You really don't want it to escalate."

The word escalate gave Pansy an idea. She reached into her bag and grabbed a bottle of ink, and then she grabbed the two brooms off the ground and thrust one of them into Ari's hands.

"Ok, Potter wants to prove herself; we'll let her."

With that, she took off on the broom.

"Ari, you really don't need to do this. You can easily say no to her. As you said, Potter outranks Parkinson."

"Unfortunately Draco, many people see this the way that Pansy does. I am the muggle raised, half-blood heiress to a pureblood family. It means that I have to prove that I still have what it takes to uphold that family name."

Ari took off on her broom after Pansy. She had never been on a broom from what she could remember. However, there just seemed to be something in her telling her what to do. That same thing was telling her that if the right person found out about this, she would be in serious trouble.

"Ok, Potter. Once around the training grounds. If you are a pureblood heiress, doing that should be no problem. After all, we are all able to fly on brooms since the age of three."

"And what are you going to be doing?" Ari asked suspicious of what Pansy was planning.

"Heh, caught on have you? Well, once you get to that last corner I am going to drop this." Here she pulled out the bottle of ink "All you have to do is catch it before it hits the ground."

"And you are going to wait until I get to the last corner?"

"Of course."

"Pansy, stop. This is stupid," Draco shouted. He really didn't want to see what else she had planned. As a Slytherin, she had to have an ulterior motive here.

"Well?"

"Fine. Draco, say go."

"Go."

Ari took off around the training grounds. They weren't that big; however, she was wondering if she would be able to do this. It was with that thought that she realized that she was already half way around the field without even thinking about it. She looked over at Pansy and saw her drop the bottle of ink. She dropped it, right over Ari's bag that contained her homework, textbooks, and a few library books.

Ari changed directions and took off right across the field. Once she was close enough she dived down at an angle hoping to intercept the bottle before it touched her bag. Faintly she heard her classmates screaming, but she didn't pay attention to it. She was gaining on the bottle, and then, about an inch from her bag, Ari reached out and grabbed the bottle. She then landed smoothly on the ground.

Draco ran over to Ari. Never before had he seen someone do that their first time on a broom. When he had seen Pansy drop the bottle, he had been all set to catch it when he saw what the ink would land on. His stomach had about gone into his throat when he saw Ari dive to catch it. He was just grateful that she was back on the ground.

"Miss Potter!" a squeaky voice shouted from the entrance to the school.

It was Professor Flitwick. He was running towards them as fast as his short stature would let him. He was looking from Ari, to the broom on the ground, to the bottle in her hand, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Follow me, Miss Potter."

Draco decided to intervene for his friend.

"Professor, Ari didn't…"

"Not now, Mr. Malfoy."

"But Pansy…"

"Silence, Miss Patil."

Ari grabbed her bag and followed Professor Flitwick back into the school. The entire time she followed him she wondered what her punishment would be. It hadn't been like she could turn down Pansy's challenge. If she had wanted to get the others to lay off about her right to be called a Potter, she had to answer it. However, now she was wondering what awaited her. Hopefully she wasn't getting expelled. She didn't know if she would survive going back to the Dursley's full time. No. She wouldn't. She would be dead before the end of the week. No, if she got expelled she would begin her search for her parents. She knew the epithets that they went by. It was just a matter of finding out what their real names were and where they were.

Without realizing it, Ari was led into the dungeons and to the door that led to Professor Snape's classroom.

"Wait here, Miss Potter."

Professor Flitwick stepped inside.

"Professor Snape, may I borrow Miss Stone for a few minutes?"

"Yes, take her. However, be warned, Miss Stone, that failure to finish this assignment will result in you coming in to make up for it."

Serra passed a phial to her partner and mouthed "finish it for me, please."

Her partner nodded and Serra left.

Professor Flitwick came out of the classroom with, to Ari's surprise, Serra.

"Follow me you two."

He led them back up into the main part of the castle and into an empty classroom. There he turned to them and explained.

"Miss Potter, as you know this is Miss Stone. Miss Stone, I have here for you your new seeker!" he exclaimed by the end he was almost bouncing.

"What? Professor, that's not possible. She is just a first year. If I remember the time she told me, then she was just in her first lesson this hour. Am I right, Ari?"

"Yeah." She was a bit uncomfortable.

"See, Professor. How can she be a seeker?"

"Well, what position would you want someone to play when they were all the way on the other side of the the training grounds and caught this," here he tossed Serra the ink bottle "an inch before it would have drenched her school bag in ink?"

Serra's eyes went wide. If this was true, then maybe Ravenclaw would stand a chance of not being pummeled again this year.

"Is that true, Ari?"

"Yeah. Parkinson threw it."

"Professor if we do this, we will have to get her a broom. She can't exactly play on a school broom. But the rules forbid it."

"Don't worry, Miss Stone, I will settle it with Dumbledore. Do you accept your new seeker?"

"Yes, of course I do. I think a Nimbus would be the best for her. They are easy to control, and she is still a new flyer despite her skills. They are also fast and change direction quickly."

"Very well. Class is almost over. I recommend you two just head on down to dinner. I had to dismiss my class early when I saw Miss Potter go into that dive. Hopefully the Gryffindors will study what they were supposed to learn today so I can finish quickly next class. Well, I know Miss Granger will. She really should have been in my house. Oh well."

With that, Professor Flitwick walked out of the classroom. This left the two girls, the older one looking at the younger one with anticipation. The younger one was staring at her shoes.

"I guess you are going to have to start joining the team for quidditch practices now. Tell you what, meet me on the Quidditch pitch at 7 on Friday. I can see how you are, and then, you can join the team for practice three days a week. Our first match isn't until the end of November, so we have plenty of time to get you caught up with the rest of the team."

"Ok," Ari stated, She was a bit distracted thinking about what her friends were going to think when she told them. She had to make sure that they had breakfast at the Ravenclaw table though.

Ari's friends were thrilled to say the least the next day at breakfast. Ari had all but dragged them over to the Ravenclaw table. While they were shocked at first, they quickly came to understand. Draco kept telling Ari that with what she pulled it was a wonder she didn't get a couple detentions to go along with being a seeker. Hermione had lectured her on how reckless and stupid she had been. She then mentioned something that grabbed Ari's attention.

"You know, Ari, your dad was on the Quidditch team when he went to school here."

Everybody stared at her like she had just lost her mind.

"What?'

"Ummm… Hermione. I haven't known my dad since he died when I was one. How was I supposed to know that he played Quidditch? My aunt and uncle never talked about my parents.

Ari was thinking about how even if they weren't her birth parents, it still would have been nice to have known the Potters and to have had adopted parents. Everybody was looking at Ari like she had just told a huge secret. Ari never spoke of her family willingly. Every time it was brought up,she promptly changed the topic. So, to hear her bring up her aunt and uncle willingly was truly strange.

"Alright, come on." Hermione grabbed Ari by the arm and dragged her out of the Great Hall. Behind them, Ron hurried to catch up. The rest decided not to even bother. If Hermione had an idea, then there was no stopping her. Poor Ari.

At the staff table, Professor Flitwick had just finished explaining what had happened during the flying lesson after Madame Hooch had left. Madame Hooch was less than happy. Professor Snape was saying she should have at least received one detention for reckless endangerment. Professor McGonagall was congratulating Professor Flitwick on finding a suitable replacement for a seeker. Professor Dumbledore was watching all of this with a twinkle in his eyes, when he noticed Hermione drag Ari out of the room.

"Well, it looks as though Miss Granger has decided to show Miss Potter something."

"What do you think it is?" Professor McGonagall questioned while watching to see if anybody else left. Sure enough, Ron got up and followed.

"There is that trophy with her dad's name on it. You know - from his sixth year in Quidditch," Professor Sprout pointed out.

Professor Snape snorted. Potter was adopted, and everybody seemed to forget that little detail. She was nothing like James or Lily. If anything, Ari would be more like her birth parents. Whoever they were, they were going to have their hands full of a very intelligent yet very impulsive girl.

"If that is indeed where Miss Granger is taking Miss Potter, then we can expect Miss Potter will be more curious about her parents,"

Sure enough, Hermione was leading Ari and Ron right into the trophy room on the third floor. They made their way up the staircases. Ari wasn't paying attention when the staircase leading to the third floor changed on them. They hadn't been quick enough climbing. They hung on tight as the staircase turned 180 degrees to face the opposite direction.

"Come on this way, before the stairs move again," Ron stated. He really just didn't want to go for another ride.

They walked along the corridor. Ari was getting a sinking feeling that something in this corridor was not right.

"Does anybody get the feeling that we are not supposed to be here?" Hermione asked the question on everybody's minds.

Ari took another look around and then realized where they were.

"We aren't supposed to be here. This is the corridor on the east side of the third floor. It's the forbidden corridor. Come on let's go back," Ari stated.

They turned around to go back, but they ran into one of the last things that they wanted to; Mrs. Norris, the caretaker's cat.

They all knew that if she was here, then Mr. Filch wasn't far behind.

"RUN!" Ari screamed.

The trio ran down the hall in the opposite direction of where they were trying to go just a few minutes before. They knew they had to hide before Filch arrived. They kept running until they came to a dead end. A locked door.

"That's it. We're done. We are going to be in so much trouble," Ron began to freak out.

Hermione grabbed Ari's wand and pointed it at the door.

"Alohomora!"

The door unlocked with a click. Ari ushered the others in before closing the door behind her. She pressed her ear to the door. Filch was coming.

"Is anybody here, my sweet? No? Well then, come on. Maybe we can catch those brats that are called twins."

Ari breathed a sigh of relief. They were safe. She then felt Hermione tug on her robe, urging her to turn around.

Ari turned around and what she saw she could not believe. After all, it was supposed to be a myth, a legend, nothing but a tale from ancient Greek mythology.

The three first years were face to face to face to face with a dog. A three headed dog, a cerberus, but a dog nonetheless. Its six green-yellow eyes all staring at the children in shock that it was quickly getting over. It bared its yellow teeth, and for a minute, Ari was certain that its breath, which smelt worse than Professor Quirrell's turban, was going to be what killed them. Ari was shocked; something like this should not be in a school for children. In the next minute, all hell broke loose. The dog got over its shock, and Ari groped for the handle. If it was a choice between being caught by Filch and being sent back to the Dursley's or being eaten by this dog, well, she would take Filch and the Dursleys any day.

Ari finally managed to get the door open. She pushed Hermione and Ron through before following. She and Ron put their weight against the door to get it closed, and Hermione relocked it. The group then made their way back to the stairs. Hermione was less than happy with the two of them.

"You two could have gotten us killed, or worse yet, expelled. This is why we were warned to just wait for the stairs to change back, Ron!"

"Hey, you didn't have to come along. You could have left us in that hall to get caught by Filch."

"Will, you two stop? It was an accident. However, I think we now know where the object that Hagrid retrieved from Gringotts is."

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

"Oh keep up, Ronald. It's obvious. That thing wouldn't be in the school unless it was protecting something important. It's too dangerous."

Ari nodded along with Hermione. That had been what she was thinking. Running into the cerberus would have been absolutely awesome if the cerberus had not been trying to kill her and her friends.

Finally arriving at the trophy room, Hermione led them straight to one that was along the left hand wall. She stopped midway down the wall and pointed. Ari looked at the award that she was pointing to. It was a Quidditch trophy, and the name engraved on it was James Potter.

"Do you know what it was for?"

"It looks like he broke a record or something. According to the card, that game he was playing reserve seeker, and he finished the game in record time; 10 minutes."

"I honestly never knew."

With that, Ari turned and walked out of the room. She knew her friends would follow her out. They had to run to get to potions on time. Professor Snape gave them a raised eyebrow as they entered right at 8.

The rest of the day was uneventful. They were back to sitting at the Hufflepuff table at lunch. Upon being told what was down the forbidden corridor, Neville screamed, drawing the attention of the prefects again. Draco went pale.

"Seriously? You actually went down the _forbidden corridor_? I can understand the two Gryffindors doing something that stupid, but come on, Ari! You have a head, use it before you lose it. Which, honestly, I'm shocked didn't happen when you ran into a three. Headed. Dog."

Professor Snape was up at the staff table watching. Many did not know this, but he could read lips. And right now, if what he was reading from his godson's was true, then those three were definitely lucky to be alive. He was honestly starting to believe that Potter did have a death wish.

Ari arrived back at her dormitory and decided she should probably finish the defense essay she had received today. If she did it now, then she could work on any homework she received tomorrow tomorrow. She had to write 10 feet on how to identify a curse. That wouldn't be too difficult. There were plenty of books on curses in the Ravenclaw library. She grabbed her textbooks and went over to sit with Faye, Keina, and Caillen.

"Have you guys finished your defense essay yet?"

'Not yet, but I am almost done," Caillen answered.

Ari looked over, and sure enough, he had six feet already. He was using three of the books from the Ravenclaw library plus the defense textbook. The textbook contained absolutely no practical defense; only theory.

Ari began her essay.

**Identifying A Curse**

**Ari Potter**

There are many different ways to identify a curse….

On and on the essay went, it was almost 8 when she finally finished the final edit of her 12 foot essay. She had decided that going over would not cause her to lose points; unless of course she didn't know what she was talking about. She had made sure to quote her sources.

"Hey, Cai?"

"Yeah, Ari?"

"What would you say to swapping essays and editing?"

"Sure, why not? I am always open to some criticism."

"Be warned, Ari. If you ask Cai to criticize it, then he will," Keina warned as she saw them trading papers.

Around 10, the two had finished editing each other's essays. Ari had to admit that Cai did not hold back when it came to criticism; however, it was all well thought out and helpful. She finished her essay, said goodnight and headed towards the dormitory. She decided to go ahead and read the next legend; Prometheus, fire and man.

Friday came relatively quickly for Ari. She, Ron, and Hermione had agreed to stay away from the corridor and whatever that dog was guarding. They really wanted to keep their heads; thank you very much.

The end of dinner saw Ari heading up to put on some different clothes before heading down to the quidditch pitch. She really didn't want to try this in her school robes. It was after class hours, so casual clothing was allowed. Ari was going to have to continue to use a school broom for now. Madame Hooch had placed one in the Ravenclaw dressing rooms for her to use. This way, she didn't have to come and find Madame Hooch every time she had practice.

When she arrived, Serra was not in sight. So, Ari decided she wanted to take a quick lap around the pitch. She took off and was instantly filled with the feeling of immense freedom once more. It was about ten minutes later when she heard Serra calling for her to land.

"Wow. Professor Flitwick wasn't kidding. You are a natural. Tonight I am primarily going to be explaining the rules of the game. After this, you will be joining the team for practices. Now what do you know of the game?"

"Only what you told us that one time in the common room. That it is played on brooms."

"Ok, we'll start with the players and the balls."

She unlocked the chest that Ari just noticed was laying at her feet. Serra picked up the big red one.

"This ball is called the quaffle. It is handled by the chasers, and they try to put it through those three hoops on either end of the pitch. The chasers as stated before are Alex, Cho, and Gwen. I play the keeper, and my job is to prevent the other team's chasers from scoring."

"Ok, what do those balls do?" Ari motioned towards the two identical balls that were trying desperately to get out of their holdings.

"These are the bludgers. They are handled by the beaters. Each beater is given a bat, and they try to hit the bludgers at the other players. They keep the chasers from scoring, the keeper from blocking the quaffle, and the seeker from catching the snitch."

"Snitch?"

"Give me a minute. I will get there. Now, the beaters on our team are Torrence and Trenton. Now you are a seeker. As I already alluded to, your job is to catch the snitch."

At this point, Serra took out a little golden ball. Ari thought it was cute.

"This is the golden snitch. Your job is to catch it before the other team's seeker. You catch it, it ends the game. The team that catches it gets 150 points and almost always wins the game."

They spent the next half hour running exercises to see where Ari needed improvement in her flying. Turns out, while she was natural, she was still shifting her weight too much. Serra assured her that it would come with practice. Ari was then informed that because she was on the Quidditch team, she did not have to attend flying lessons anymore.

By the time they made it up to Ravenclaw Tower, both girls were exhausted. They were greeted by the rest of the team. Alex and Torrence seemed happy that Ari was on the team. However, Gwen, Trenton, and Cho seemed a bit hesitant.

"She is but a first year. Are we sure she can even fly well?" Cho questioned while looking Ari up and down.

"Ari can fly fine. She is a natural. Professor Flitwick is the one that brought her to me, and I have just spent the past hour watching her. There are still some areas that she needs to work on; however, this was only her second time flying. She will be fine."

"She can fly fine now but what about when the bludgers are flying around? Not to mention the other team." Trenton questioned. He really just didn't want to see her get hurt. She was a nice kid.

"That is what you and Torrence are for. Not to mention practices. She is on the team. We need a seeker and all those at try-outs were horrible. It's either her or we might as well just forfeit now."

The rest of the team still looked nervous; however, Ari sensed that they knew Serra was right. Hopefully since the first game isn't until the end of November, they would gain some confidence in her before then.

**xXx**


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The month of September gave way to the month of October and with it ended the nice summer evenings. Quidditch practices became cold, and Ari was still expected to come back to the common room and work on homework. Ari, Faye, Caillen and Keina had formed something of a study group. Every evening and during their breaks, they worked on their homework. By doing it this way, they never felt much stress to get it done. Hermione, on the other hand, while tackling homework the same way that they did had to fight Ron to get his done, and most of the time, he waited until the last minute to even start it.

It wasn't until the week of Halloween that the next adventure began for the group. All the students were starting to get excited in anticipation for the feast that would be happening the next day. Classes had just ended and the group had decided to enjoy this last warm day down by the lake. Ari, the other Ravenclaws, Hermione and Draco had brought along their Potions homework to try and make a dent in it, when the last group that they wanted to see came over.

"Go away, Pansy," Ari stated trying to end this thing before it started.

"Oh, don't be like that, Potter. You know that I am worth more than these losers any day."

"Those 'losers' happen to be my best friends. And I asked you to leave. We don't need your attitude and negativity while we try to do our homework."

"You know, if you keep hanging out with them, you will never be welcome in the pureblood circles again. Most of us don't accept those that associate with mudbloods and blood traitors. And, you have two mudbloods, two blood traitors and three that are well on their way to being marked as blood traitors."

The reaction to this statement was instantaneous. Draco was holding Ron back after the fiery red-head had decided to try and tackle Pansy. Crabbe and Goyle had jumped in front of Pansy to prevent her from being hurt. Caillen and Keina had started yelling at Pansy.

"How could you?"

"Do you have any idea what you are saying?"

"Faye and Hermione are 10 times better than you will ever be."

Faye and Hermione looked confused. Ari guessed that they had never heard the term before and didn't know the full meaning of it. The only reason Ari knew it was because the etiquette book mentioned it. It described it as a term that is not to be used in polite society. However, Pansy had apparently never learned that lesson.

Ari was furious that anybody could be so cruel as to think that way. She closed her eyes to try and get control of her temper; however, it didn't work. The next thing that Ari knew, she heard the sound of rushing water in her ear and people screaming.

"Ari, what did you just do?" Hermione screamed. She was looking from Ari to Pansy.

Ari looked over at Pansy and had to hold in a laugh. Pansy was drenched in water from head to toe. She was also the only one who got wet. Her makeup was running. Her hair style, that probably took her a good half hour minimum, was now ruined.

"Ari, did you just do accidental magic?" Caillen asked while looking scrutinizingly at her.

"Ummm… I don't... I mean… ummmm…" Ari didn't know how to answer. She was confused herself as to what just happened. Luckily for Ari, she was saved from answering by a Professor.

"What is going on out here?" came the commanding voice of Professor Snape, who was making his way swiftly over to them.

"Ari just attacked me, Professor - unprovoked," Pansy whined while Crabbe and Goyle nodded along.

Professor Snape looked from Pansy to Ari. The scene made little sense. Pansy was the only person or thing that was wet. Not even the ground was wet. There was no way that Ari could have got Pansy wet without getting other things in between wet... unless...

"Miss Potter, come with me. Now." His tone left no room for opposition. Ari felt it was best just to follow the irate professor. He was already making his way back to the school.

"Yes Professor. Guys, grab my stuff for me, please."

"No problem, Ari, just go," Draco answered. He knew better than to keep Professor Snape waiting.

Ari followed Professor Snape into his office in the dungeons. She noticed that the portraits that they passed by were muttering to each other, as though trying to find out why she was in trouble. She knew that there would be rumors spreading around before the end of the night. She was nervous to say the least. She wasn't sure if what she did was accidental magic or something else. Whatever it was, she knew that Professor Snape would not let her leave without a full explanation as to why she attacked one of his students.

Professor Snape looked at Ari with an expression that Ari could not place. It was almost as though he was trying to solve a puzzle, and Ari was a tricky piece that would not fit where it was supposed to.

"Take a seat, Potter."

Ari sat in the offered seat. She really didn't want to talk about this.

"What happened?"

Short sentences, not good. Ari figured it was best just to stick to the truth and keep it short.

"Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle came over and started asking me why I was still hanging out with the friends that I hang out with. I asked her to leave."

"You are leaving something out, Miss Potter. Now, I recommend you tell me everything."

"She called Faye and Hermione mudbloods and Neville and Ron blood traitors," Ari said at barely a whisper.

She hated saying the word, and she hated it even more when it was said in association with two of her best friends. Seeing the look on Professor Snape's face made her feel even worse.

"She called them what?" He asked in a calm quiet voice. Ari knew that he was furious

"Sir, please don't make me repeat it. I know what it means, and I hate saying it."

"Very well then, I will deal with Miss Parkinson later. However, you used magic on a student."

"Actually, sir, I didn't," Ari stated quietly. They were now past the most uncomfortable part and into the part that she just didn't understand. Ari had never had issues telling Professor Snape about the weird magic that she did. That is why she had not hesitated to tell him that she could talk to owls.

"What do you mean, you didn't?"

"I didn't have my wand in my hand, and I didn't mutter a spell. I closed my eyes to control my temper and the next thing I knew, I heard a wave in my ear and people screaming."

Professor Snape's eyes widened. His mind wandered to all the possibilities. He knew what that sounded like but surely it was not possible! After all, that would mean breaking the oath, then again, the youngest brother already broke it. No, he needed more proof before he decided upon anything.

"Has anything like this ever happened before? Think very carefully."

"Ummm... when I was at the zoo one time, I heard voices when going through aquarium. It happened the same day I first heard a snake talk to me."

"Wait a minute, Potter. What do you mean, ‘talk to snakes and aquatic creatures’? The only creatures that I know that you can talk to are owls."

"Well, that was the only one that you saw, and I did tell you that I could speak to snakes when you came to the Dursleys'."

"Don't be disrespectful."

"Yes, sir, sorry. I had a conversation with a snake at the zoo, right before I did accidental magic I think."

"And the fish?"

"Originally, I thought I was just hearing voices in the aquarium. Honestly, I thought I was going nuts for the 20 minutes that we were going through the aquarium. I only began to think that it was the fish after the snake and after we got home."

"So, you reasoned it out?"

"Yes, sir."

Snape had to admit that he was impressed. The girl had reasoned out for herself what was going on around her.

"What did you think?"

"I thought I was going crazy. Thinking back I realise that the fish can be much more annoying than owls. The owls only are annoying in their formality. But the fish, they never seem to shut up. And it's always sea princess this and sea princess that."

Professor Snape was silent for a minute. If the creatures of the sea were calling her princess, then his guess as to what Ari was was probably correct. However, that would not necessarily be a good thing. It depended on if it was Triton or Poseidon. For now though, he would not say anything.

"No Miss Potter, you were not going crazy. Though, I can see how it would be disconcerting. We will put the water incident at the lake down to accidental magic. You need to keep better control of your temper. Got it, Miss Potter?"

"Yes, Professor."

"Then you are excused."

"Thank you, Professor."

Ari walked out of the classroom. Leaving Professor Snape with much to think about. He hoped beyond hope that it was Lord Triton and not Lord Poseidon. Because otherwise Ari was in for a difficult life.

Ari meanwhile, went up to Ravenclaw Tower and locked herself in her semi private room. She really did not want to be disturbed. She had already made her way through many of the legends and was now getting into some of the ones that she was a little more familiar with. Tonight she was going to read about Hades, god of the underworld which was protected by a cerberus.

Ari and the others had long since decided that whatever Hagrid had retrieved from Gringotts was being protected by the Cerberus. They had also decided that, since it was more than likely that the professors were protecting it, they would leave it alone.

Classes the next day were difficult for the teachers to say the least. The good news was that there were no double classes that day because Halloween fell on a Friday. Most of the first years had most of their classes in the morning and then maybe one in the afternoon.

The Ravenclaws started in Charms and on that day they were finally going to put their theory work into practical. Professor Flitwick at the beginning of class announced that they were going to actually start practicing the levitation spell.

"Now, one of a wizards most rudimentary skills is to make objects fly. Now, you will be working in groups. Please make sure you have a feather per group. And remember the movement for the spell. Wand movement can be just as important as the pronunciation. For instance, today's spell will do nothing if you do not remember the swish and flick that we have been working on. Now, off you go. Let's see you try."

At the end of the speech, all of the the Ravenclaws picked up their wands and began to attempt the spell. Many were having trouble with the pronunciation. However, none of them were acting like windmills. About ten minutes into trying, Faye was the first one to perform the spell.

"Oh, well done, Miss Baker. Take ten points for Ravenclaw."

In her excitement over actually performing the spell, Faye some how sent the feather flying right into Professor Flitwick's eye. The rest of the class laughed as Professor Flitwick tried to sooth his now very sore eye. Class ended with pretty much all of them having successfully levitated their feathers at least once.

The day was going great until Ari ran into her other friends on their way to dinner. She heard Ron talking to Seamus and Dean.

"Honestly, she is an absolute nightmare. I don't know why I even bother hanging out with her. She is such a know-it-all."

At that moment, Hermione went running past the group and past Ari. There were tears in her eyes. She noticed that Draco and Neville were getting closer from the other end of the court yard. Deciding that she wasn't going to let Ron get away with this, Ari marched up to him and dragged him away from Seamus and Dean.

"OOOWWWWW!" Ron hollered as she dragged him into an empty classroom.

Once inside, she turned on him. Not even caring that the door opened and closed again. She knew that it would be Draco and Neville.

"You are a real piece of work, you know that?!" she all but yelled at him.

"Wh-what do you mean? I haven't done anything to anybody."

"Your comments about Hermione! She heard you!"

"What has Weasel done, Ari?" Draco asked trying to get all the facts.

Ari looked over and saw that both Draco and Neville were confused. She took a deep breath.

"He said - and I quote - 'Honestly, she is an absolute nightmare. I don't know why I even bother hanging out with her. She is such a know-it-all.' He said it right where she could hear him!" Ari explained.

Draco and Neville turned and started to glare at the foolish Gryffindor.

"That was uncalled for."

"You know that she is trying."

Ron looked insulted that all of this was falling on to him. It wasn't his fault.

"Me! You should have seen her in charms. She was acting all superior, like she knew everything," he defended.

Ari took a deep breath; he didn't get it.

"Ron, that is besides the point. Hermione, is Hermione. I have already had some talks with her about this. We all have. However, what you said was nothing short of cruel. In her own way, Hermione was probably trying to help you. While she may have gone about it in the wrong way, so did you!" Ari tried to explain.

It looked as though Ron was beginning to understand as he started to pale.

"Ron, what you did was bullying. Believe me while it may not be physical, it still hurts."

"You need to apologize Ron," Neville input with Draco nodding.

"Alright, dinner should be starting soon. I will apologize at dinner."

With that, the group made their way to the Great Hall. They had to sit at their own tables because it was dinner time. While eating a slice of pumpkin pie, Ari decided to look over and see if Ron was apologizing yet. He wasn't. In fact, Hermione wasn't even at the table. Ari heard Lavender Brown tell Parvati that Hermione had locked herself in the girl's bathroom. She was about to grab her friends from their tables and try and find Hermione when Professor Quirrell came running into the hall.

"Troll! In the dungeons! Troll in the dungeons!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

Ari looked up and saw that the majority of the teachers had stood up and were looking grim and pale. When Professor Quirrell collapsed, the room was in an instant panic until Professor Dumbledore ordered for silence.

"Prefects, lead your houses back to the common rooms! Teachers follow me to the dungeons. Slytherin go with Ravenclaw. Hufflepuff go with Gryffindor."

The chaos soon became organized as the prefects began to grab their houses. The first year Ravenclaws followed Trenton and Gwen as they led the first years out of the hall. Once in the Entrance Hall, they ran into the first year Slytherins, including Draco. Ari tried to get Gwen's attention, but she was ignored.

"Keep moving Ari. You can talk when we get back up to the tower."

"But…"

"No 'but's. We need to get out of danger before the troll leaves the dungeons."

Ari then tried the Slytherin prefect but with just as much luck. Ari turned back to Draco.

"We need to find a teacher. Hermione doesn't know about the troll," Ari explained.

Draco's eyes widened, "Are you crazy? There is a troll on the loose. Just tell your prefect."

"I already tried. They won't listen. Come on, we can find a teacher before they reach the dungeon."

Draco, not seeing any better option, nodded in agreement. They quickly made their way towards the dungeon, hoping to find a teacher soon. They were about to turn a corner when Ari grabbed Draco and pulled him back.

"Hey! What's the-" he started shouting.

"Shhhh. Listen," Ari instructed.

Footsteps, by the sound of them, big ones. They were heading towards the two. Ari and Draco peered around the corner in time to see, the troll. Ari could honestly say that she had never seen anything that disgusting in her life, and she lived with the Dursleys. It was twelve feet tall. Its skin was a dull, granite gray. Its great lumpy body was like a boulder with a small coconut on top, its head. Its legs were short but they were also as thick as tree trunks. The only thing worse than its appearance was its smell. It was dragging a club behind it as it lumbered along.

Ari and Draco watched as it walked into a room at the end of the hall. Draco noticed the key in the door.

"Come on, we can lock it in and get a teacher," he said as he began to make his way towards the door.

Ari looked at him in disbelief as she grabbed his arm to stop him.

"What?" he asked.

"Do you realize what room that is, Draco?" Ari inquired.

Draco shook his head at the same time that a loud high pitched scream could be heard coming from the room that the troll had just entered. Draco stared at Ari wide eyed as realization hit him.

"That's the girl's bathroom," Ari explained.

Ari jumped up and began to run, Draco following her.

"HERMIONE!" they both shouted as they entered the bathroom.

Already, three sinks were broken as were two of the bathroom stalls. Within seconds of entering, both Draco and Ari were soaked from the water shooting out of the broken pipes. Hermione was huddling in a corner and towering over her was the troll.

"Confuse it, Draco," Ari shouted as she picked up a broken piece of glass and threw it at the troll. All the while, she was trying to come up with a way to get all three of them out of this.

Draco, began to levitate pieces of the toilets, stalls, pipes, and sinks to hit the troll. Ari saw that the troll was suitably distracted for a few minutes and ran over to try and get Hermione to move.

"Come on Hermione! We have to get out of here!"

It was no good. The girl was frozen in fright.

All of the noise and flying debris seemed to be driving the troll crazy. He began to charge Draco waving his club as he went. Ari turned and saw this. In that minute, she did something that would have had her mother raving and her father stuck between cheering and fretting. Ari jumped onto the back of the troll in one leap. She would later wonder how she was able to do that.

It took a few seconds; however, the troll did eventually realize that he had an unwanted passenger on his back. He ran around the confined space trying to shake off the hitch hiker. Ari noticed through her peripheral vision that Draco was dragging Hermione towards the door. Or at least trying to, the rampaging troll was making it kind of difficult.

As he dragged Hermione along, Draco worried about Ari. She wouldn't be able to hang on to that thing forever. Eventually, she would either fall off or would get whacked against something.

As though knowing his thoughts, the troll backed into a wall. The impact was hard enough for Ari to be stunned. She lost her grip on the troll and fell towards to the ground moaning.

"ARI!" Draco shouted as he watched the troll start to lumber towards his friend. There was no way that he could help her. He had his hands full with keeping Hermione standing. But Ari needed to get up and move.

"ARI! GET UP!" he shouted trying to get through to her.

Ari moaned as she started to come to. Man, riding on a rampaging, bucking troll was not on her top ten list of fun things to do. At that moment, sound began to reach her. She registered that somebody was shouting. After a few seconds, she realized the voice was Draco's.

"ARI! MOVE YOUR REAR END!"

Why would he be telling her to move? As though in answer, she heard a roar of anger. Oh shoot! The troll.

Ari look up in time to see the troll swinging his club, right towards her. There was no where to move. The troll was in front of her, the wall behind her, broken pipes at her left and the club was coming at her from the right. She was stuck.

'No," she thought when she saw the club, 'I still have to find my parents. We weren't even supposed to be in this stupid bathroom, and this troll wasn't supposed to be in the school.'

Ari saw Draco staring at her wide eyed from the entrance. Hermione was coming out of her shock and noticed the situation too.

"ARI!" Hermione screamed.

That did it. Ari screamed in frustration.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" She suddenly felt a tug in the bottom of her stomach. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the water from all the pipes changed from just spouting water everywhere to shooting straight at the troll.

The troll tried to fight against the water, but it just wound up getting pushed into a wall. Ari, Draco and Hermione watched as the water continued to shoot at the troll until it was unconscious from lack of oxygen.

'Good!' Ari thought.

As though agreeing with her, the water decreased in pressure and aim and went back to just spraying everything.

Ari stood up and walked over to Draco and Hermione.

"Are you two okay?" she asked, noticing that Hermione was still shaking.

"I think we should be the ones asking you that, Ari. You are the one that almost got clobbered by that thing," Draco deadpanned.

Ari just looked sheepish. At that moment, the door behind them opened and Professors Quirrell, Snape, and McGonagall came pouring into the room. They took a look at the scene before in utmost shock.

Professor McGonagall turned on the trio, "Explain, now!"

All at once, the three erupted into explanations. The teachers tried to catch it all but quickly gave up.

"ENOUGH!" Professor Snape shouted. "One at a time. Granger."

"I was in here crying because of something that was said about me. Out of nowhere, the troll entered and started destroying stuff. I tried to squeeze myself into a corner; however, if it wasn't for Draco and Ari, I would be dead."

The teachers paled at this explanation. They had almost lost a student.

"Malfoy, explain," Professor McGonagall ordered. They needed all three sides of the tale.

"I was walking with the Slytherin first years when we merged with the Ravenclaw first years in the Entrance Hall. I watched as Ari tried to inform both Slytherin and Ravenclaw prefects that Hermione was in the bathroom and didn't know what was going on. We decided to try and find a professor before you were all in the dungeons. We were about to turn a corner when Ari heard the troll. She pulled me back, and we watched as it entered the bathroom."

He paused for a minute when he noticed that Professor McGonagall looked about ready to faint.

"Continue, Mr. Malfoy," she ordered.

Professor Snape couldn't believe that his godson was caught up in all of this.

"I was about to run up and turn the key in the lock when we heard a scream, and Ari informed me that it was the girl's bathroom. Seeing no other option we ran in with the hopes of grabbing Hermione, getting out, and locking the door. Ari and I began to throw debris at the troll to confuse it. I used the levitation charm to do that while Ari ran up to Hermione and tried to get her to move." here he stumbled. He didn't want to describe seeing Ari getting injured.

"Continue, Draco," his godfather instructed sensing the hesitation.

"The troll went berserk and started heading towards me; I was cornered. I don't know how she did it, but Ari jumped on the troll's back. While she was on her wild ride, I grabbed Hermione and dragged her over here. When I turned back, the troll backed into the wall Ari fell to the ground, stunned. As though sensing this, the troll took a swing at her. Ari screamed in pain or defiance, I am not sure which, and the water from the pipes started shooting at the troll. It didn't stop until the troll was unconscious. Then you came in."

If it was possible, the teachers were even more pale. Ari noticed though that Professor Quirrell only seemed to have eyes for the troll. Professor Snape turned to Ari. That would make twice in as many days that she had used water when highly emotional. There was no doubt now that it wasn't accidental magic.

"Miss Potter, explain," Professor Snape instructed.

Ari looked him right in the eyes, "I have nothing to add that hasn't been said before."

This surprised the teachers. They had never heard of a student not wanting to give their side of the story.

"Try," Professor Snape instructed.

"I tried to warn a prefect; when that failed Draco and I searched for a teacher. We ran into the troll. It went into the bathroom. We ran in to get Hermione, but Draco got cornered. I don't know what I did, but I somehow wound up on the troll's back. Draco dragged Hermione towards the door. The troll decided to be smart and backed into the wall, stunning me and causing me to lose my grip. I came to hearing Draco yelling at me and a club coming towards me. I screamed, the water reacted, the troll fell unconscious," Ari summarized.

The two professors looked at each other. Ari looked over at Professor Quirrell and noticed that he was now glaring at her.

"Alright, Miss Granger you will come with me back to Gryffindor Tower. Mr. Malfoy, Miss Potter, you will accompany Professor Snape. Miss Potter I want your head looked at. By the sounds of it, you took a hard hit. After that, you may return to your house."

The students nodded. They knew that they were lucky to not be getting points deducted or worse. Ari and Draco followed Professor Snape down to the dungeons. They stopped in front of a painting that Draco gave a password to. It swung open, and he went in.

"I am trusting that you will keep that silent, Miss Potter," Professor Snape commented looking down at the child.

"Yes, sir."

Professor Snape led her into his office.

"Sit."

Ari sat in the same chair that she had occupied just the day before. The professor sat in his chair and took a good look at her. While they were sitting, food appeared before both of them.

"Well, Miss Potter it seems that you have somewhat of an affinity for water."

"A what, sir?" Ari questioned.

"An affinity. It means that you can command it without uttering any spells. It is incredibly rare. Only doing it once can be passed as accidental magic; however, you have done it twice in two days," Professor Snape explained. He needed her to understand this if she was going to believe what he was going to tell her.

Ari stared at her professor in shock. How was this possible?

"However, I do not believe that it is an affinity with water in the normal sense," Professor Snape continued.

"What do you mean, sir?" Ari asked. Having a feeling that her life was about to become even more difficult and weird.

"Tell me Miss Potter. What do you know of the Greek legends?"

That question surprised Ari. It didn't seem to fit in with the topic.

"I don't understand, Professor."

"What do you not understand?"

"What do the legends of the Greek gods, goddesses, and heroes have to do with my affinity for water?"

There it was. That is what he wanted her to ask.

"Everything, Miss Potter. Now, answer my question please."

"I know that the gods each have their own the realm. They fought and beat the titans and giants."

Snape was glad that she wasn't mentioning any names. If she did, it could get very dangerous.

"I know that the goddess of magic, Hecate created our world," Ari continued.

Somehow, Ari got the sense that she was suddenly being watched. She turned to look around her but saw only her potions professor. Professor Snape watched her as she looked around. He knew that the gods heard every time that their name was mentioned. Since the child had just mentioned Lady Magic, more than likely she, if not more gods, was now watching. After all, it wasn't everyday that somebody outside of camp mentioned the gods.

"What else do you know?" he decided to continue the conversation.

Ari began to talk about the myths and legends that she had just recently begun to read.

Elsewhere, the goddess of magic was watching the conversation between the potions professor and the mortal goddess. It was time. She sent out a call requesting an audience with the entire council. It was almost the winter solstice, so hopefully Zeus would allow Hades to attend. With those thoughts, she made her way to the council hall.

Once inside, she noticed that all twelve of the Olympians and Hestia were already present. She walked forwards and stood before Zeus.

"Why have you summoned us, Hecate?"

"There is a conversation occurring right now, in which my name was incited and it concerns us all."

This grasped everybody's attention. It wasn't often that Hecate's name was used in conversation by the mortals, except among her people. The council realized this and their eyes widened. Hecate saw this and nodded.

"Yes, Zeus. It involves one of my people. We need Hades here."

Zeus decided for once not to argue with Hecate. He knew how protective she was of her 'pet project'. Just the fact that she had brought this before them meant that it was big. A few minutes later, Hades appeared and sat upon his guest throne. With all of that done, Hecate brought up the conversation, which was within her rights since her name was mentioned, and they listened.

Poseidon and Athena looked at the image of the girl that was brought up with suspicion. She looked like a mixture between them. But then that would mean that she was-. They looked at each other in shock and worry. A few of the smarter gods and goddesses were also starting to make a connection, but it didn't seem possible.

"Ok, you know the legends of the heroes and their deeds but what of the gods?" the potions master that Hades recognized as his great-grandson questioned.

"Ummm…" Ari thought hard. "I know that even though many of them had wives or husbands, they tended to cheat on each other."

The gods looked at each other. Some with embarrassment and others with disgust.

Professor Snape's eyes widened, she was getting there, "Who did they cheat with?"

The council quickly realized that the man was leading the child, trying to make her figure it out for herself.

"Other gods and goddesses," Ari's eyes widened. "And mortals. They had demigods; heroes."

"Yes," he looked at her expectantly. He knew that she would figure it out.

Ari thought hard. Meanwhile, the council was waiting to see if the child would figure it out. It now made sense that Hecate had brought this before them. Somebody had been stupid enough to knock up one of her people. They knew the instant that she had figured it out, because she turned severely pale and looked up at her teacher wide eyed.

"No! You can't be serious!" Ari yelled.

The gods shook their heads while the goddesses looked sympathetic. It was definitely life changing news; however, denial would not change it. Now, the child had to be claimed. They all waited for a sign to appear above the child, but none did. They looked at each other. Surely, the parent would claim her, but none did.

"You are, Ari. Denial does not fit one of Ravenclaw. Use your wisdom and mind. Figure it out," Professor Snape encouraged.

The entire council turned towards Athena who was trying to sink into her chair. That was a big hint towards the child being hers; however, the child did not look like a ‘brain child’. Artemis' eyes widened. She understood.

_"You didn't Athena! You had a child!?"_ she yelled to her sister mentally.

Athena turned towards her sister, _"I didn't mean to at the time. However, watching her, I could not be more proud of her."_

Artemis was shocked, _"Claim her! You know that father has offered both of us to break our oath should we choose."_

Athena shook her head, _"I can't claim her. I promised."_

With that, she ended the conversation and turned back to her daughter who was still thinking.

"I know the epithets that my parents go by," Ari finally said. The gods and goddesses all leaned forward.

"Go on," Professor Snape encouraged.

"According to Hedwig, and the sorting hat," Professor Snape raised his eyebrows at the last one, "My parents are called Lady Wisdom and Lord Spontaneity."

The uproar on Mount Olympus was instantaneous.

"You had a child!"

"Woo, you go sis!"

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Who is the father?"

"She isn't one of your normal children, she isn't blonde and doesn't know who her father is."

After a few minutes of these comments, Zeus decided that it was enough.

"SILENCE!" The room fell silent. "We will listen to the rest of the conversation and then decide what to do. Athena, we will be talking later."

"Yes, father."

"What do you think the meaning of these names are?" he really wanted her to figure it out herself.

"I don't know. Now that you mention the legends, it seems kind of obvious that Lady Wisdom should be Lady Athena, but how?"

Professor Snape stopped at that comment. He had a feeling who her father was and that is where he had been leading the conversation, but he had completely forgotten about the girl's mother. If the child was indeed the daughter of who he thought and Lady Athena, then...oh gods! He decided to continue on.

"And Lord Spontaneity?"

"I honestly don't know. If I am a demigod, he should be a mortal. But, I keep thinking about who is wise, can talk to owls and fish and now has an affinity for water, but I can't think of anybody. Lady Athena doesn’t completely fit. She didn’t have all the traits. That, and I believed it all to be just legends. That’s why I didn’t connect Lady Wisdom to Lady Athena when the epithet was first mentioned. I still don’t see it. Where do the other powers come from if she is my godly parent? As far as I know, Lady Wisdom doesn’t have an affinity for water."

The gods were impressed by the child’s logic. However, it then begged the questions. Who was the child’s father and where did the extra powers come from?

It was obvious that the child was still trying to only figure out which single god or goddess was her parent. However, thinking about what he had just thought, it seemed that they were going to need some help. Severus Snape prided himself on being a patient man, but even this was trying his patience.

"We are going to call some people. Come here," He walked over to a jar and pulled out a weird looking coin. At first Ari thought that it was a galleon, but the design was wrong.

"What are we doing, sir?"

"Trying to get some information." With that, he used his wand to create a rainbow and said, “Oh, goddess, accept our offering."

He threw in the coin, "Mount Olympus Council hall!"

Before the gods could react the Iris-message appeared before them. It showed the Professor and student that they had been watching. Professor Snape’s eyes widened He had only been expecting to get whatever god was present, not the entire council!

He quickly bowed his head and forced Ari to bow hers.

"Wha-" Ari began as he forced her head down.

"Be silent and still Potter. Don't move or speak until told to."

The gods stared at the message until Hecate rolled her eyes and decided to help the two.

"What is it you wish to speak to us about, Severus Snape, descendant of Hades, and Ari Potter, unclaimed?"

The two in the message slowly rose.

"We wish for some help, my lady," he kept his voice respectful.

"Then ask, we shall try to help you if we are able," Hades replied coming out of his shock. It was not often that his great-grandson called for help.

"Thank you, sir. I have discovered a demigod with a most peculiar set of talents. I believed her to have one parent; however, while trying to get her figure it out, she guessed a different parent."

"Yes, that does seem to be a dilemma," Artemis spoke.

"What talents does the child possess?" Zeus asked.

They had all heard the conversation, but they wanted to make sure that they hadn't missed anything during the outbursts.

Severus began to speak, but was interrupted by Hestia.

"Let us hear it from the child herself," she recommended.

The council nodded in agreement. Severus Snape bowed and motioned Ari forward.

"Tell them what you have told me," he instructed.

Ari looked at the group of people in the message and was instantly reminded of her dream.

"I discovered a month before my last birthday that I have an ability to speak to and understand snakes."

This caused the council to turn towards Hermes who shook his head.

"She is not mine. Sorry little one," he said the last part to the child in the message.

Ari nodded to the man and continued, "That same day after returning home, I reasoned that the voices I heard were the fish and sea creatures kept there."

The uproar was instantaneous.

"YOU BROKE THE OATH!" Zeus and Hades both yelled.

They looked about ready to attack the King of the Sea when their three sisters intervened.

"Peace brothers, you forget the fact of the child's mother. Let us hear _everything_ before we decide which, if any, of the oaths have been broken," Demeter reasoned.

Poseidon sent his sister a smile. She nodded in return. She had a feeling that this child was not a normal demigod.

When the yelling had started, Severus had pulled Ari back. He knew it wouldn't help, but he would try. After calming down, the gods saw how scared the child now looked, and looked sheepishly at each other. This child had asked for help; they should not be fighting.

"Continue little one," Demeter spoke calmly.

Ari nodded and stepped forward again. However, this time, her professor stayed within arm's reach of her.

"The day before my birthday, I discovered another gift. I was able to talk to the owl that brought me my school letter. A conversation that I had with her a while ago, revealed that Lady Wisdom sent her to look after me. I asked her if she knew who my parents were. She said she did, but she couldn't tell me. She said that Lady Magic said I had to discover this for myself."

The council was now looking at both Athena and Hecate. They were starting to feel really sorry for the child. She had the facts dangling in front of her, but she couldn't get a straight answer. Hecate looked at the child. She had to figure it out on her own.

"Please continue, anything else?" Hecate asked.

Now, Ari had been watching the reactions and was starting to put some missing pieces together based on how they were reacting.

"I have guessed that Lady Wisdom should be Lady Athena; however, Lord Spontaneity is proving more difficult. I keep thinking that he should be a mortal; however, then there is the issue that I have a water affinity that has made itself known both yesterday and today."

Poseidon leaned forward, "Explain the incidents." He wasn't stupid. He knew that even though Hecate had brought it before the council and now the teacher had called them Ari still had to figure it out herself.

"I got angry at another student for picking on some of my friends. I tried to control my temper, but the next thing I knew, I heard a wave in my ear and people screaming. From what I could see afterwards, she was the only one that got wet. Not even the ground was wet."

This surprised the gods. That was very powerful and at so young an age too.

"The next incident just happened when I was being attacked by a troll."

The gods paled. She had already been attacked!

"I got cornered and the next thing I know is that the water in the pipes pretty much all but drowned it."

Everybody looked at each other. The girl was lucky to be alive.

"What is it you are having trouble with?" Apollo asked. The girl was fascinating to him.

Here Professor Snape answered, "As stated, my Lord, we have guessed that she is a demigod, but she seems to fit with the parentage of two gods. I wish to know if-"

Ari then had an epiphany as the final pieces began to click into place, "Lady Athena and Lord Poseidon! They are the two that make up my powers."

Professor Snape looked down at his student and smiled while nodding. She had figured it out.

He turned back to the gods who were smiling at the two, "Our question is, is it really only one or two?"

At this, some of the gods started chuckling while others raised their eyebrows. All were watching Ari as she seemed to continue to think. She almost had it.

'So much like her mother,' was the thought going through many heads. Because, yes, they had all figured it out. Yes, they would be having a _long_ discussion about this, but not until the call was over and the child was out of hearing distance.

They all knew she had it when her eyes lit up.

"They are both my parents! Lord Poseidon is Lord Spontaneity and Lady Athena is Lady Wisdom! Lord Spontaneity is a god not a mortal."

The gods nodded. Severus Snape paled. He had thought that a possibility, but he had wanted to be sure.

"Do you realize what that makes you, child?" Hera asked.

Ari thought for a second and then paled.

"I'm not a demigod. I'm a... but how... I mean, wouldn't… why am I?" Ari couldn't seem to finish any of her questions. They all knew that she knew what she was. Now, she needed to come to terms. Hecate stepped forward again.

"I believe that it is time to end this conversation. The child needs rest and to think on what she has learned."

The council nodded in agreement. It was one thing to learn that you were a demigod. But to learn that you were somehow a mortal raised goddess was something entirely different. There was also the fact that the child had apparently been attacked just a while ago.

Hades stood up and addressed his great-grandson, "Severus, I recommend you begin her training. She is going to need it. See that she gets to camp come summer."

"I will do so, Sir," Severus answered. He had already been planning on teaching her. On the bright side, he now knew where she would be going the first half of her summer instead of the Dursleys'.

With that, Severus and Ari gave a final bow, and Severus cancelled the call. He then turned to his student who he could see was still trying to process it all.

"Ari," he called trying not to startle her.

She still jumped, but turned towards him and nodded.

"I recommend that you head to bed. Report here tomorrow at 9, and we will try and make sense of what we have just learned."

Ari nodded. With that, Professor Snape took a quick look at Ari's head injury and then escorted her back to Ravenclaw Tower. It was well past her curfew. When she entered, it was to find all the prefects and the entire Quidditch team sitting around reading books. They all turned to her the instant that she was in the door.

"Ari!" Emily shouted as she ran over to the girl.

She and Gwen led Ari over to the couch. Gwen handed her a cup of water.

"What happened? All Professor Flitwick would tell us is that you and two others were attacked by the troll and that you got hurt!" Alex questioned.

The others all nodded. They had all been worried when they noticed that the girl was not with them when they had made it to the tower. After finding out from the Slytherins that Draco was missing, they really started to worry. Gwen had mentioned that Ari had been trying to tell her something.

The Quidditch team was hovering in the background, at least those that weren't prefects. Ari had quickly become a close friend of theirs and the fact that she was a first year and extremely small for her age made them all feel even more protective of her.

"Professor Snape took me to his office. Once there, he looked at my head to make sure it was ok. He kept me for a while longer to make sure that there were no bad side effects of the fall. While there, I had dinner. As soon as he was certain that I was fine, he walked me back," Ari explained. She shuffled around a few of the events and left out some major ones, but they didn't need to know about the gods.

The prefects nodded. That is what they had thought, but they had wanted to make sure. Based on how pale Professor Flitwick had been, they had guessed that Ari had to have been seriously hurt. They could see some scrapes and bruises on her from the attack. They were just happy that it wasn't worse.

After a few more minutes of being reassured that she was okay, Gwen and Trenton dismissed everybody to bed. It was already midnight. They needed sleep, and it had been a long day.

**xXx**


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

As soon as the call ended, all of the gods and goddesses turned towards Athena and Poseidon. Both looked as though they wanted to sink into their chairs. After a few moments of awkward silence, Hecate decided to speak.

"Well, I, for one, am pleased that she solved it that quickly." Everybody turned and looked at the minor goddess. "Athena, Poseidon, I recommend that you explain _everything_. Also, remember that while you may now interact with your daughter, she still falls under the laws of the demigods: no direct interference."

"Are you going to stop blocking us from watching our daughter?" Poseidon asked accusingly.

The gods turned to look at Athena for an explanation.

"We have been trying to watch over her; however, there are times when we are not able to see her. We have guessed that this is Hecate's doing."

Poseidon nodded. Zeus turned towards Hecate.

"The child may be amongst your people; however, you have no right to prevent her parents from watching over her. They have already agreed to no interference, and that should be enough."

Hecate nodded. She had probably gone a bit too far. Even she didn't watch over the child all the time and whenever she did look, the girl was doing chores. She didn't have time to watch over one little girl constantly. She had to monitor an entire hidden civilization, plus her children, as well as the Mist. Like every god, sometimes things were forgotten.

"Very well, you may monitor her at will."

With all of that said, Hecate flashed out of the council chamber. After she left, all of the gods began to ask questions at once.

"When did this happen?!"

"I think that is obvious _idiot_! Why did this happen?"

"Yay for Pothena!"

"What's Pothena?"

"The shipping name for Poseidon and Athena, duh!"

"WE ARE NOT TOGETHER!"

After another 10 minutes that consisted of questions such as: how did we miss this, why didn't you tell us, why is your daughter a mortal, how did she wind up with Hecate's 'pet project,' and does Amphitrite know, Zeus finally called a halt to the questions.

"We need answers, and we _will_ get them," he emphasized the last part while looking directly at his brother. "Now first-"

"If I might interrupt, brother?" Hestia interjected.

Zeus nodded to his eldest sister. While she had given up her seat for Dionysus, her council was always appreciated.

"I recommend that we follow the advice that we gave to the child and sleep on what we have learned. We can reconvene tomorrow with clear heads."

Some of the gods and goddesses immediately started to argue. They wanted to know how Athena and Poseidon had got over their differences enough to have a _child_ together. All of the arguing was brought to a halt though by Aphrodite.

"I recommend that we do as Hestia has recommended. After all, you do _not_ want to see me without my beauty sleep."

At this, all the gods and goddesses paled. The last time that Aphrodite had been without her sleep, well - let's just say they had not heard the end of it yet. Very quickly, they began to flash out.

"Everybody be here at 8:30, and Poseidon bring Amphitrite and Triton," Zeus ordered before leaving with Hera.

Apollo and Artemis left next needing to find a replacement for the sun and moon chariots. They had a feeling that they were going to be busy the next couple of days. Hephaestus left with a grunt to return to his forges. Hermes turned on his phone, and as he left, everybody could hear Martha informing him of 3000 missed calls, 50,728 new texts, and 591 new emails. Hestia and Hades left without anybody noticing, not that that was unusual. Demeter left to try and convince her daughter that she should leave Hades. Aphrodite giggled as she pulled Ares away. Nobody wanted to know what they had planned. Dionysus left complaining about the brats that he had to return to. He had stalled for as long as he could before he knew that he was going to get in trouble if he stayed any longer. In the end, the only two left were Athena and Poseidon.

As soon as they were alone, they walked towards the lounge to talk. They walked in silence and remained silent after they arrived. Neither wanting to be the first to talk. It was finally Poseidon that spoke first.

"Well, how do we explain this to the council? Better yet, how do we explain our decision to Ari?" he questioned.

Athena sighed for once she honestly had no answer. They couldn't just tell the child not to question their actions like they would normally do, because she had every right to want to know why.

"Let's focus on the council first. Ari is in school right now and needs to focus on that. And you heard Hades, Severus will be sending her to camp this summer."

Poseidon nodded, "And the council? We can't just put that off til the summer."

"We tell them the truth. We have no choice," Athena reasoned. "They know about her now so there is no point in lying. We always knew that it would come out in the end."

That wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear; however, it was what he had expected. After a few minutes of silence, Athena turned towards Poseidon.

"I would seriously recommend that you inform Amphitrite and Triton _before_ they arrive here tomorrow."

Poseidon almost flinched. That was going to be the hardest part about all of this. Telling his wife and son. He knew that their marriage was not a happy one, and this was only going to hurt it even more. His wife hadn't even wanted to marry him to begin with. He could only hope that they didn't decide to take their anger out on Ari. He _would_ intervene if they did.

"I was already planning on telling them. I would rather that the yelling happened away from Mount Olympus where everybody can hear it."

Athena nodded. For once, her rival was being logical about a situation. With all of this said, Poseidon and Athena stood up and parted ways. Athena left to get some sleep and Poseidon left to get yelled at by his wife.

Upon returning to Atlantis, Poseidon was greeted by Delphin.

"My Lord! What was the emergency? Surely, anything minor could have waited until the solstice in a few months."

Poseidon could tell that his advisor was nervous. An emergency meeting of the council had not happened since what the mortals call World War II. Therefore, it was worrying that he was all of a sudden summoned to Mount Olympus this evening.

"There is no emergency, Delphin. Hecate wished to make something known to the council, and we are meeting up again tomorrow," He looked at the time and sighed. "Well, more like later today. Where are Amphitrite and Triton?"

"The queen is in the meeting hall and the prince is in the game room," Delphin answered immediately.

Poseidon smiled. His son loved that room and it had taken almost three decades to finish it. He decided that he should just inform them together. They were both going to be upset and he just wanted to go to bed.

"Delphin, have Triton meet me in the meeting hall."

"Yes, my lord," Delphin answered and then left to do as told.

Poseidon began making his way towards the meeting hall. He knew that Triton wouldn't arrive for about 10 minutes, and he didn't want to be in the room longer than absolutely necessary. He arrived in the room, after stalling and getting something to eat in the kitchens, right as his son entered the room. Inside, his wife was greeting their son with a warm hug. Poseidon smiled. Then Amphitrite and Triton noticed his presence.

"My Lord! You are back!"

"Father, is everything alright? What caused the council to be summoned?"

Poseidon held up his hand for silence. He knew that they would continue to ask questions if he didn't stop them now. They immediately fell silent.

"Sit down please. We have much to discuss."

The queen and prince were immediately on edge. The tone of voice meant that something serious had taken place, and they were not going to like it one bit. Poseidon took a deep breath and then started.

"As both of you are well aware, this evening the council was summoned to Olympus by Hecate."

Both nodded. That they had known. However, what they wanted to know was what Hecate had wanted.

"Hecate's name was invoked by somebody outside of camp."

Amphitrite and Triton's eyes widened. Hecate's name was only invoked normally by her people, and even that was becoming rare. Triton began to laugh as he caught on.

"Who was the idiot that decided to anger Hecate by knocking up one of her 'pet projects?'"

Amphitrite smiled. If that was the entire issue- But her husband was still looking serious.

"That isn't the issue is it?" she questioned her husband.

Poseidon shook his head, and Triton immediately stopped laughing.

"You both know that occasionally I am given a project to work with one of the other gods."

They nodded.

"There was a project about 12 years ago that I worked with Athena."

"The one for better housing in the southern part of Olympus," Triton interjected.

He made it a point to know what projects were being worked on by his father so that he could help. Amphitrite meanwhile was getting a very unsettling feeling. Poseidon nodded to his son.

"Yes, well," it was about to get very awkward. "While working on the plans, Athena and I argued, like normal and also had a _few_ drinks. Neither of us remembers much of that night. The only thing that we remember is the end results."

Amphitrite and Triton both began to understand. Triton's eyes widened, and Amphitrite's narrowed dangerously.

"And what, dear husband, were the end results?" Amphitrite asked in a clipped voice.

"A daughter by the name of Ari," Poseidon answered in a rushed voice that was barely a whisper.

Despite the whisper, both of the occupants in the room heard the answer, and the reaction was instantaneous.

"YOU CHEATED ON ME AGAIN!"

"Father, how could you?!"

"DO YOU EVEN CARE ABOUT OUR MARRIAGE?"

"Why can't you be happy that you have me?"

“DO YOU EVEN CARE ABOUT ME?”

Poseidon allowed them to get the yelling out of their systems before he finally held up a hand once more for silence.

"Yes, I cheated on you, Amphitrite. Yes, I care about our marriage. Yes, son I am very proud of you. However, no, I will not renounce my daughter and yes, she will eventually be coming to stay here. Therefore, you had both better find a way to accept it or, at the very least, tolerate it."

With that stated, he made his way towards to the door. Once he reached it, he remembered the other part of Zeus' orders.

"You are both to be in the Council hall on Olympus by 8:30 in the morning. So, I recommend going to bed."

Amphitrite stood up and strolled gracefully over to her husband.

"You are on the couch, My Lord," with that, she walked gracefully out of the room.

Poseidon nodded. He hadn't expected anything less. He watched as his son walked over to him.

"I will withhold judgment on her, father. However, I am displeased with this treatment of mother."

With that, Triton walked off to get a couple hours of sleep. Poseidon sighed. That had gone better than he had thought it would. However, he knew that he would not be getting any sleep here, so he flashed himself back to Olympus and went to sleep in the rooms that he had there.

**oOo**

Ari awoke the next morning feeling as though she hadn't slept at all. She rolled out of her bed and headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day. Since it was the weekend, she decided to wear a pair of jeans and an emerald green sweater that clung to her body. After she was dressed, she headed up to the common room to head down to breakfast.

She arrived in the common room to find Keina, Faye, and Caillen waiting for her. Also in the room was Torrence, Wesley, and Serra. Wesley was Trenton's younger brother. She walked further into the room, and everybody stood up. Faye ran over to her.

"Are you ok? We heard that you got attacked by the troll along with Draco and Hermione. What were you doing near the troll? We were all so worried when we couldn't find you. The prefects got upset, because Gwen realized that you had tried to tell her something, but she didn't listen. We wanted to wait for you to return, but Professor Flitwick sent us to bed. When did you get back? Where you hurt too badly?"

The questions and random comments continued for a few minutes with Ari smiling indulgently at her friend and the others subtly looking Ari over as though to try and find an injury.

"Alright, Faye. That's enough. Let Ari answer," Caillen interrupted.

Everybody turned to look at Ari.

"I'm fine, guys. Professor Snape made sure of it before walking me back to the common room."

Everybody nodded to that. They had just wanted to make sure that she was really ok. The prefects and Quidditch team had been nervous this morning when they came up to the common room. Serra stepped forward and gave Ari a look that was full of concern.

"Did Professor Snape say anything about you continuing to play Quidditch?" she didn't want to make this about Quidditch. However, she needed to know now if she needed to find another seeker.

Ari gave her an understanding smile.

"I should know by lunch. Professor Snape wants me to come down to his office today after breakfast to make sure that I am absolutely okay."

Serra nodded. The team was worried that the first year had been seriously hurt. She had volunteered to stay up here until Ari came out to make sure that she was alright and that she could still play.

With all of that settled, the group made its way down to the Great Hall. The good news was that breakfast was served until 9 on the weekends. Therefore, it didn't matter that they were running a bit late. Ari arrived in the Great Hall to find her friends waving at her from the Ravenclaw table. Tomorrow they would be moving back to the Gryffindor table. Ari walked over. She knew that she was about to be questioned for the fifth time about what had happened the night before. She sat down and began to fill up a plate. She still wasn't eating the full requirement for her age yet, but she was working up to it.

She looked up to notice that all of her friends were looking at her as the Quidditch team and prefects looked at her from further down the table.

Ari sighed. "Alright, ask."

"How badly were you hurt?" Draco asked immediately.

Ari raised an eyebrow at him, "You were there Draco. You know what happened."

"Yeah, but I don't know how badly you were hurt. Last I saw you, you were bleeding from a wound in the back of your head."

Hermione gasped and her eyes widened.

"You told them what happened?"

Draco nodded.

"Well, at least that makes this a bit easier. Professor Snape took me to his office and cleaned up the wound. While waiting to see if there were any bad side effects, we ate and talked. I have to go back again this morning for him to check one last time. If I am fine, he will clear me for Quidditch."

At this last sentence, the team sighed in relief. Others meanwhile rolled their eyes in exasperation.

A few minutes later, the mail arrived via owl like every other morning. However, what was not normal this morning was the flock of six owls carrying a long parcel. The package with a letter was dropped in front of Ari. Five of the owls flew away; however, one, Hedwig, stayed.

_"The package contains your new broom, m'lady. Stern faced teacher states in the letter that you are not to open it at the table."_

Ari nodded her understanding to the owl. She decided that she would have Keina take it up to the tower while she went to talk to Professor Snape. Ari opened the letter.

**Miss Potter,**

**DO NOT OPEN THE PACKAGE AT THE TABLE! Inside, you will find your new broom. The money was taken from your vault to pay for it. Remember that this is a privilege that can be removed.**

**Professor McGonagall**

"Keina-"

"Yeah, Ari."

"I have to go see Professor Snape this morning. Can you take the package back to the tower for me?"

"Sure, no problem. I'll put it on your bed."

Ari nodded her thanks and continued to eat.

After eating as much as she could, Ari stood up and started to head towards the exit. Draco immediately stood up and began to walk with her.

Ari raised her eyebrow at him, "Do you need anything Draco?"

"No, just want to make sure that you don't get lost on your way to Professor Snape's office."

Now Ari rolled her eyes at him.

"Draco, you do realize that I have been to his office twice in the last two days, now three times in three days. I am pretty sure that I know my way."

Draco blushed at this. Ari giggled and continued to walk down into the dungeons. After a few minutes, they arrived at the door that led to Professor Snape's office. Ari knocked on the door. Professor Snape answered the door a few seconds later.

"Well, get in here, Miss Potter. We have much to discuss." Here he seemed to notice Draco's presence. "Mister Malfoy, I believe that you have homework that you could be doing. Miss Potter will be fine. Now, move along. If you have time to be loitering in the halls, then I clearly need to assign longer essays."

Draco stared at his professor in disbelief. He was never that harsh to the Slytherins at least not publicly. He looked to Ari who nodded to him that she was indeed ok. With that, Draco left to go finish some of his homework.

After Draco left, Professor Snape led Ari through his office and through a door in the back. Once through the door, Ari realized that she had been led into what must be Professor Snape's personal quarters. The room was a forest green with the furniture being of different shades of brown. Overall, the room was calming.

"Take a seat, Miss Potter. As I informed you before, we have much to discuss." Professor Snape's voice pulled Ari out of her musings.

Ari took a seat in the lounge chair across from Professor Snape. This was going to be a long day.

**oOo**

While Ari was waking up and enjoying breakfast with her friends, the Olympian council was getting ready for its own meeting. The topic: Ari, the no longer secret daughter of Poseidon and Athena. Many of the Olympians arrived in the kitchen on Olympus for breakfast. None, however, were talking. It wasn't until Poseidon walked in that everybody realized just what had happened.

"She kicked you out?" Hestia asked in surprise.

They were all surprised. Yes, the queen of the sea had one hell of a temper, but she had never kicked Poseidon out of Atlantis for something.

"No, she kicked me to the couch. So, I decided to stay in my rooms here until she calms down."

Everybody nodded. That seemed like a reasonable thing to do. No need to make the fire bigger than it already was. At about five to 8:30, Zeus stood up and began to make his way to the Council Hall. The rest of the gods followed him. They arrived to find Hades, Amphitrite and Triton already present.

The gods took their seats and began to discuss the issues.

"Well, brother, do you and my daughter wish to tell us exactly what happened?" Zeus questioned. It sounded like they had an option but all knew that it was an order.

Athena stood up. She knew that Poseidon had already had to explain this once. Plus, he would probably forget details knowing the kelp-head.

"Poseidon and I were assigned plan the remodeling of the southern part of Olympus. As everybody knows, many of the houses there are archaic and in desperate need of repair."

The entire council nodded. They all knew of this. Many of the minor gods and goddesses had been complaining about the housing there for at least the past three centuries if not longer.

"Poseidon and I met up to finalize the plans before we presented them before the council; however, sometime between arguing and the few drinks that we had the memory goes a bit blurry. The next clear memory that we have is waking up the next morning and me throwing him out of my house with the threat to never mention it again."

Many on the council began to chuckle at the image that this summary brought up. After the humor of the situation that two of the bitterest rivals in their history had found themselves in died down, Zeus stood up.

"So, you mean to tell me that while you were supposed to be working on a project that I had assigned, you got drunk, had sex and then kicked my brother, your uncle, out of your house?"

Athena blushed and nodded. She felt like a naughty child that had been caught stealing a cookie.

"And you brother, anything to add?"

Poseidon shook his head. Athena had pretty much summed it up.

"Then let's discuss."

"What I want to know is why we were not informed back when the child was born," Artemis brought up.

This statement was followed by nods from the majority of the council. Athena and Poseidon looked at each other trying to decide who would take this topic.

_"You were the one scared about your oath."_

_"I know that but I answered the last question."_

_"I don't care. You were the one that insisted that we could not raise her. You take this question."_

Poseidon knew for a fact that this question was all Athena's. It was her oath that was broken.

"That was my doing," Athena spoke up. Poseidon caught her eye and gave her an encouraging nod.

"To be honest, I was worried and scared. I had managed to keep my oath intact for well over five thousand years. I didn't want to face what would happen when it came out that it was broken."

The goddesses looked sympathetic at this confession. Artemis understood the best what Athena must have gone through. She herself had almost broken her oath a couple times. Everybody was drawn back to Athena as she continued.

"I convinced Poseidon that Ari was better off being raised as a mortal. That way, we could have time to approach the topic calmly. However, Poseidon and I never brought it up. It never seemed to be the right time. I almost brought up sending her to camp five years ago when Annabeth was on her way to camp. But, then the tragedy with Thalia happened and I couldn't bring myself to pull her away from the safety she had amongst Hecate's people."

"Why were you thinking about sending her to camp? She would have been only six," Demeter asked.

"I thought at the time that it would do Annabeth some good to have somebody at camp around the same age as herself. Also, I would have then been able to keep a clear eye on my daughter."

Poseidon understood. He, too, had almost asked Hecate on more than one instance to bring Ari to the camp.

"I am curious as to how well the child is taking the news. We all saw how shell-shocked she was at the end of the call last night," Hestia put in kindly from over by her fire.

"Sister come over here and join in the conversation," Hades beckoned to his older sister. He summoned up another guest throne right beside his. Hestia smiled as she took a seat.

After Hestia was seated beside Hades, Demeter voiced her opinion, "I agree with Hestia. The child was definitely in shock yesterday. If anything we should make sure that she is ok."

Amphitrite did not look pleased at this idea. Triton looked curious about what his sister was like.

"Agreed, if the child is one of us, we need to know that she is not a danger, to herself or us."

Poseidon glared at his brother for the last part of that comment.

"Ease up on the glare, Poseidon," Athena snapped, "Father has every right to be worried. We left an immortal child to be raised as a mortal. She now knows the truth. Most would feel at the least resentment if not complete hatred towards their parents for doing this to them."

Poseidon sighed and nodded. He knew that they were right. However, he also knew based on what he had seen of his daughter last night and the glimpses of her childhood that she was a very loving and forgiving child. With these thoughts in mind, Poseidon nodded and brought up an image of Ari for all to see. He and Athena were both pleased to see that there was no interference in the image this time. It was a clear image.

The gods watched as Ari was led by Professor Snape into a sitting room. All looked closely at the child in question. It was obvious that she had not slept well the night before and was zoning out easily. Triton looked curiously, not that he would admit it, at the girl that was his first non-monster immortal sister.

They all watched as the child jumped at the sound of her teacher.

"Take a seat, Miss Potter. As I informed you before, we have much to discuss."

The gods leaned forward. It appeared as though the conversation between the teacher and student was only just about to begin. The child took a seat across from her teacher and still looked very uncomfortable.

"Father, what did you say her name was again?" Triton questioned. If he was going to be seeing the girl for the rest of eternity, he might as well know her name. He was not however going to start caring about the girl who looked like a strong wind would blow her over.

Poseidon smiled at his son. He knew that there was no hope that Amphitrite would come to care for Ari; however, Triton, in his own way, normally came to care about his half siblings. The only time that he didn't was when they were blatantly disrespectful to the gods. However, he had eventually come to care for his sons Theseus, Orion, and Bellerophon. He kept the smile as he answered his son.

"Her name is Ari, Triton."

Triton looked in surprise at his father. How had they missed that?

"The Greek name for superior; best of thinkers. Also, Arabic for brings rain. Her parentage is right in her name."

The others looked surprised at this. They had missed the obvious. They turned back to the conversation.

"Well, Miss Potter, we have much to discuss."

"Yes, sir."

"Do you want to tell me what you are thinking?" He knew that he needed to get her to open up about what they had discovered yesterday if she was going to accept it.

Ari looked right at her professor.

"I am confused. I mean I know that you told me that I was adopted by the Potters. I know that after they were murdered that I was sent to live with the Dursleys. But, why didn't they bother to check up on me?"

It looked as though Ari was starting to let all of her hurt feeling from her childhood out. All the feelings of neglect and abandonment were coming out now that she knew that there were people who cared about her.

"I mean even you, a complete stranger, was able to see what was going on in the house not even ten minutes after meeting me."

The gods looked at each other. What did that mean? Murdered? What was going on in that house? Poseidon and Athena looked at each other in worry and concern. Hecate had promised them that Ari was safe. If she wasn't-.

"Ari," Professor Snape spoke calmly trying to get the child to understand. "The gods are very busy. Very often, more often than it probably should, they tend to let things slide through the cracks. Unfortunately, most of the time, what falls through the cracks are their mortal children. I can almost guarantee you though that none of them would have stood for what happens to you in that house."

Ari nodded; lost in thought. She hadn't fully told Professor Snape what happened to her in the Dursleys'. All that she had done was confirmed that they abused her.

The gods were looking at the parents of this child. It was obvious to all involved that the mortals were going to be experiencing some nasty weather today. Poseidon and Athena were pissed and may the gods have mercy on whoever was on the other side of their wrath! If the implications were true, then little Ari was abused, and that was unacceptable.

"HECATE!" the two irate parents shouted for all to hear.

All the minor gods and goddesses of Olympus looked towards the Council hall all thinking the same thing, 'what did Hecate do to piss off both Athena and Poseidon.' The children that lived at Camp Half-blood year round looked to the lake that was suddenly very angry. The counselors quickly called everybody out of the lake. There was no need to have anybody getting killed because somebody had stupidly decided to piss off the sea god. The waves continued to crash on to the beach with no signs of calming anytime soon. Oh yeah, somebody had made Poseidon very angry.

Hecate appeared before the council within seconds of being summoned. She took one look at the irate faces of Athena and Poseidon and knew that she had missed something.

"May I ask why I have been summoned?"

Poseidon stood up off of his throne and pointed to the image that Hecate was only just now noticing. Her eyes widened as she saw Ari looking like she was about ready to cry, be sick, or both.

"You can explain how you let this happen to her!" Poseidon yelled.

Everybody flinched. It had been a long time since Poseidon had been made this mad.

"Hecate, I recommend that you just listen and then explain," Hades drawled. If his brother's temper was not calmed soon, he was going to have a lot of work when he returned to the underworld. Oh joy.

The immortals tuned back in in time to see Severus try and pull Ari out of her thoughts.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he cringed at the cliché. However, he knew that she needed to open up.

Ari gave him a weak smile. She knew what he was trying to do and appreciated the attempt. She knew that she needed to tell somebody what happened in that house; however, it was hard. She took a deep breath and nodded. This wasn't going to be easy.

"Let's start with something simple, Miss Potter."

Ari nodded again.

"You are much too thin and small for your age-"

The immortals all nodded in agreement. They had noticed that yesterday, but it was much more noticeable today. Triton and Amphitrite were scrutinizing the child. Amphitrite could not believe that this _girl_ was going to be a princess of Atlantis. She looked much too plain. Triton on the other hand was wondering what had happened to her.

"Did your, for lack of a better term, relatives feed you three _full_ meals a day?"

Ari shook her head and looked down at her feet. Hecate's eyes widened now in understanding why Athena and Poseidon were so angry.

"I didn't know," she whispered, but everybody heard her.

"What did they feed you?"

Ari shrugged, "It depended."

"On what?"

"If I finished my chores on time, did as I was told and wasn't a freak. If I did all of that, I _might_ be permitted a piece of bread or the scraps from the meal."

Now, it was not just Athena and Poseidon that were pissed, but also the other gods. Nobody should treat a child like that, let alone one of theirs. Even Ares was angry. It wasn't often that he agreed with his family; however, in this case, he would make an exception. The only person that did not seem to feel angry on behalf of the child was Amphitrite.

Most began to make plans about what they were going to do to the Dursleys, but first they had to find them. Hecate was refusing to tell them where the house was located.

Hestia was sitting on her throne still watching the image. She knew where the child's house was located because she had been there before. Of course, she had never known who the child was. She watched as Severus asked another question, and Ari began to answer.

"If you all keep yelling, you are going to miss more important information. Let's save the planning until after the meeting."

The council looked sheepish as they retook their seats and tuned back into the conversation in the image.

"-didn't want me. I was viewed as a burden. My good for nothing parents went and got themselves killed leaving their normal, respectable relatives to take care of their infant freak. My aunt never liked my mom. When I started doing accidental magic, it became all the more apparent that I wasn't normal. That is when Uncle Vernon began his 'lessons.'"

"What did he do during these lessons?" Professor Snape was having a lot of trouble controlling his temper. He would definitely be showing this memory to Dumbledore, and he would see to it personally that the child never returned.

"He would take me down to the basement. Once there, it would depend on what I had done. If it was just me not finishing my chores, I was given 15 lashes and then left there for the night. I would also have more chores the next day."

Severus paled. If that was a minor crime, then what about the major ones; such as magic? The gods were thinking the same way that Severus was. Athena, Artemis, Hestia, and Demeter looked about ready to cry. Triton felt sympathy for his half-sister and wasn't sorry for it. Poseidon, Hades, Zeus and some of the others looked ready to kill. The three brothers looked at each other and nodded. Yes, they didn't always get along, but for this, they would work together. Ari was not returning to that house.

Ari continued. Now that she had started, she found it easier to just keep going.

"If it was because I disobeyed, then I was given 20 lashes and left down there for the night. Depending on how badly I had disobeyed, I might also be slapped. But nothing else. The lessons for my freakishness were the worst ones. There was no set amount of lashes. He kept going until he got tired, the belt broke or I fell unconscious. If I had hurt Dudley during the accidental magic, then I was also slapped around a bit. It was never enough to prevent my being able to do chores."

"So, he never broke any bones?"

"Not him, no."

"Explain."

"Dudley was the one responsible for any broken bones. He enjoyed beating up on me, pushing me down the stairs or just plain hurting me. The only good news was that he couldn't catch me that often. Uncle Vernon, though, didn't like it when I couldn't do my chores. The one time that I had to be taken to the hospital due to broken ribs, a fractured wrist, a concussion and a broken leg was the only time that I actually saw Dudley get in trouble. After that, it was always bruises, sprained wrists, or minor injuries. Nothing that could be used as an excuse to not work."

"Didn't the lashes prevent you from working?"

"They slowed me down, but Uncle Vernon never punished two days in a row. He usually left a couple days in between. At night, or when they left, I would sneak into the kitchen and grab the bandages kept in the back of the medicine cabinet. I think that Aunt Petunia knew that I used them and left them there for me."

"What did your aunt do?"

"Nothing much. She mostly yelled at me. Called me freak, waste of space, abomination and that sort of stuff. She left most of the physical stuff to Uncle Vernon. The most that she ever did was aim a frying pan at my head."

Severus was speechless. This was worse than what he had thought when he first met Ari in that house. He couldn't believe the level of animosity that a family would show their niece. He looked over at Ari and noticed that she had finally begun to cry. He knew that it would take a while for her to heal from what her relatives had done to her, but it was a start.

There wasn't a sound made in the Council hall as the Olympians began to try and make sense of what the child had been through. None could blame the child for crying. Most likely, she had never been allowed to cry for fear of being punished.

Severus called for a house elf while Ari cried. It was almost lunch time, and he didn't envision her making it down to the Great Hall. He told the elf to bring them some sandwiches and pumpkin juice. Ari had finally managed to calm down a little by the time that the elf returned with the food.

"Professor, I told Serra that I would tell her at lunch whether or not she needed to find a new seeker."

Severus sighed. Of course the child would think about Quidditch.

"I don't see a reason why you cannot continue to chase after a small gold ball while trying not to crash into other players or the ground. However, we need to get back on topic that was from last night. Write a quick note, I will sign it and then the house elf can deliver it to Miss Stone."

Within five minutes, the note was written and sent.

On Olympus, Hecate was trying to explain Quidditch to the council. She kept it very basic. Poseidon and Athena both paled when they learned that it was played at more than 100 feet in the air. Everybody turned towards Zeus.

"You will not harm my daughter while she is on a broom."

"Indeed, you gave permission to Hecate's people and since she is among them, she has permission too."

Zeus held up his hand for silence.

"I have no intention of knocking the girl out of the sky while she is playing her game. By the sounds of it, she is talented and I am fine with it."

Hades began to chuckle gaining everybody's attention.

"That and you don't want to have to deal with a pissed off Athena and Poseidon coming after you."

This caused everyone except Zeus to start laughing as well. Athena or Poseidon by themselves was a formidable opponent. However, when those two teamed up, and it wasn't often, they were next to unbeatable. By now, they had noticed that Ari was finished eating and resumed watching the child pick through her life. They needed to know what her final decision was.

"Now, Miss Potter, we need to talk about last night."

"I don't really know what to say about it. I mean as I explained earlier, I was shocked and then upset. However, now, I am just confused."

"Confused about what?"

"What do I do? I mean I am obviously their daughter and since both of my parents are gods doesn't that make me one?"

"Yes, technically it does. Tell me Miss Potter, what color blood do you have?"

"Red. Why?"

"Immortals do not have red blood. They bleed ichor; golden blood."

"So, I have been turned mortal?"

"Precisely."

"So, I am basically a demigod."

"I do not know. I have never known the gods to turn their immortal children mortal for an extended period like they have done to you. I recommend that you ask your parents. Or, if you can't wait that long, talk to your owl. You said that she worked for you mom."

"Hedwig! Yeah, she said that mom sent her to look after me. I guess this explains the formality doesn't it?"

"Ari, I need you to be honest. How exactly are you feeling towards the gods?"

This was what the gods had been waiting for. Would the child accept them?

Ari's eyes flashed in an emotion that Professor Snape was only just able to identify as anger before it happened. The next thing that any of them realized, a wind picked up in the room. Ari was losing control of her magic.

"THEY ABANDONED ME! I MEAN, HOW HARD IS IT TO ACCEPT YOUR CHILD?!"

Severus knew better than to try and reason with her. The wind died down after a few minutes, but Ari did not.

"THEY DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO CHECK UP ON ME! IF THEY HAD CARED ABOUT ME, THEY WOULD HAVE MADE SURE THAT I WAS BEING TAKEN CARE OF!"

"Ari, they made a mistake, try and calm down."

He heard rumbling coming from both the bathroom and the kitchen. If Ari didn't regain control soon, his quarters were going to be flooded by the plumbing.

The gods were watching this reaction in utter shock. One by one, they turned towards Athena and Poseidon. It was finally Artemis that spoke what they were all thinking.

"You two need to fix this. Now!"

The rest of the immortals nodded.

"It is you that she is angry at, therefore, it must be you who tries to make amends," Hestia added.

At that moment, there was an explosion in the image. All turned back just in time to see the room that Ari and Severus were in flood with water. Around Ari, the wind from before was whipping up again and this time it was mixing with the water.

Severus Snape was having difficulty trying not to drown while also trying to calm down the irate goddess.

"Ari! Calm down! Just, because they didn't help you directly, does not mean that they don't care. Look at the facts, Athena sent a personally picked owl to look after you."

The wind and the water continued to fly around the room. Many of the books on the bookshelf were damaged. Professor Snape was putting sticking charms on the items that had yet to be reached by the elemental magic. Ari by now, was beyond comprehension. She was too far lost into the memories of her childhood. The abandonment, abuse, neglect, and pain. All of it was now at the forefront of her mind.

"Dad I recommend you go, NOW!" Triton yelled eyes widening in shock at the powering he was witnessing.

They were all surprised by the amount of power that the child was showing. Her powers were supposed to be blocked until she was 18. However, apparently, her magic was mixing with the water powers from her father. And this was the end result.

Professor Snape was just about ready to summon the headmaster and Madame Pomfrey to work on knocking the child out when there was a blinding light near the edge of the storm. Severus turned to see who had entered his rooms to find that it was the child's parents.

"Leave the room, Severus," Athena ordered as Poseidon made his way towards the middle of the mini storm.

Severus nodded and left the room. Poseidon worked his way through the storm. Upon reaching the middle, he grabbed hold of the child in a giant hug. He began to talk in a soft, soothing voice.

"It's okay to be angry, child. But, you need to calm down so that we can talk. Your mother and I are so sorry that all of this happened to you. We honestly believed that you were being taken care of and loved."

Athena managed to pick her way through the storm, having more difficulty than Poseidon had had. The good news though was that the storm had begun to calm down. Poseidon lowered Ari into sitting on his lap. Athena managed to work her way into sitting in front of Ari and Poseidon. She grabbed a hold of Ari's hands. Ari raised her head to look at her mother.

"Honestly, child, we were guaranteed that you were going to a loving family. If we had known, you never would have left Olympus. We have tried to keep an eye on you as you grew up. However, there were unforeseen circumstances that prevented us from being able to do so. We were blocked from you, unable to even watch you learn to walk." Tears glistened in the goddess' grey eyes but weren't permitted to fall. "Eventually I got tired of not knowing and I sent your owl, Hedwig, to you. She is your direct link to me."

With these words, the wind and water finally settled down.

"I was raised to believe that I was an unwanted waste of space. That my parents had got themselves killed driving drunk. That I was unloved and my only use was to do household chores," Ari said in a whisper but her parents caught every word.

"None of that was true," Poseidon tried to reassure his daughter.

There was then another flash of light. Ari quickly covered her eyes while Athena and Poseidon turned towards the new arrival. It was Hecate.

"Child, if the blame is to lie with anyone, it is to lie with me. I am the one that prevented your parents from checking on you. And I am the one that should have at least checked that you were being well looked after. I am no longer going to stop your parents from checking up on you. We have all made mistakes however it shouldn't be taken out on all of the gods."

Ari sat still for a few minutes before nodding. She saw the sense in these words. Most of the gods had not even known that she had existed, so why should she be mad at them for how she was neglected?

"Alright."

"Are you going to be okay?" Hecate asked.

"Eventually, but right now, I think I need to apologize to Professor Snape for destroying his chambers."

The three immortals chuckled, gave Ari one last hug and then flashed out. After they were gone, Ari walked into Professor Snape's office.

"I am sorry for destroying your chambers, sir. I didn't mean to lose control of my anger."

Severus nodded. He was glad that the gods had managed to calm the child down.

"Miss Potter, there is a camp in America that trains the children of the gods. It helps teach them to control their abilities even when extremely emotional."

Ari's eyes widened.

"Didn't... ummm... Lord Hades mention that last night? Something about you making sure that I arrived at camp this summer?"

Severus nodded, "Yes, the council wants you trained to protect yourself against the creatures of Greek mythology. When you go, you will meet some of your other half siblings."

Ari smiled. She had forgotten that she probably had half siblings if the gods were still acting as they did back in Ancient Greece.

"However," Professor Snape continued drawing Ari out of her thoughts. "We will begin your training here. Now that you know what you are, the monsters will be able to scent you out easier."

The gods sighed. They were now back in a comfortable topic; hero training. As a mortal goddess, her scent would be stronger than that of an ordinary hero. And, since she was a child of one of the big three, it would be even stronger.

Professor Snape led Ari over to a trunk that was locked. He hadn't opened it in years. Ari looked over his shoulder to see what was inside and was surprised. It was full of armor, swords, daggers, and many other weapons.

"We will need to get you some armor _before_ we start working with weapons. However, I see no harm in teaching you how to clean and handle them."

After saying this, he pulled out a small weapon. It was the smallest in the trunk. The sheath that he pulled out was leather in the middle and plated gold on the top and bottom. He handed the weapon to Ari. Ari noticed that the sheath had a design of snakes on it. It also had a face on it that almost looked like Medusa.

"That, Miss Potter, is a dagger. _Carefully_ pull it out of the sheath."

Ari did as she was told. The dagger was sharp and well maintained. As Ari looked at it closely, the gods nodded in approval. It would work until the child obtained a sword. They all knew that she would need a sword because that is what children of Poseidon specialized in, mostly. They would wait on the bow and arrow until they knew if she had inherited her father's or mother's skill towards _that_ particular weapon.

"Now, we will begin training in weapons after Christmas break. You are to keep this dagger on you at all times. The sheath should clip to the back of your waistline under your school cloak. Therefore, nobody will see it."

Ari nodded.

"Starting this week, you will meet with me on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays (minus Quidditch) to train. I know for a fact that you have Quidditch practices Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Now, I believe that we have covered enough for today. Meet me here on Monday at 7, and we shall get started. Lessons will of course cause you to be up past curfew, but I will clear it with the Headmaster."

Ari smiled as she left. She might not have all of her answers, but she had received some. When she stepped outside the office, however, she ran into a bunch of Slytherins who were looking wide eyed at her.

"Is everything ok, Potter?" a sixth year asked.

"It is now. Umm... Professor Snape is busy cleaning up, so I don't know if he wants to be bothered right now."

With that said, she walked away. The Slytherins entered the office to find a drenched Professor Snape. They immediately began to try and find out what had happened.

After Ari was dismissed, Poseidon turned off the image. The council began talking all at once.

"She can't return there!"

"She never should have been there to begin with!"

"If Poseidon and Athena had just told us to begin with what had happened, she never _would_ have been there!"

"She shouldn't have even been born!"

"Hecate promised us that she was safe!"

"She was safe with the family that I had originally placed her with."

"Well, she obviously isn't now!"

"How was I supposed to know that they were going to be murdered!?"

"ENOUGH!"

Everybody turned to look at, surprisingly, Triton. Apollo and Hermes began to snicker as everybody else looked at the young god in surprise.

"Son?" Poseidon questioned raising an eyebrow.

"Fighting isn't going to solve this. If the look on that teacher's face is anything to go by, Ari won't be returning anyway. All we need to do is let him convince whoever he needs to that Ari can't return there and help him if need be."

The council nodded at this. Zeus turned to Dionysus.

"You will need to make a trip to the school and inform whoever you need to that Ari is to attend camp. Make it sound like her parents signed her up; whatever you need to do, short of killing, do it."

Dionysus nodded, "I can go after the holiday break."

Hecate looked as though she was going to argue so Zeus snapped at her.

"Yes, Hecate I am giving permission to interact minimally with your people. You did not fulfill your end of the deal in Ari being raised by a caring family. Yes, I understand that it was not your fault that they were murdered. However, you should have made sure that she was placed with caring people and the second that she wasn't you should have moved her."

The entire council nodded. None of them were happy with how Hecate had handled Ari's placement. While the original family might have been suitable, the second family most definitely was not. Hecate should have at least checked up on her or not prevented Athena and Poseidon from checking.

"Hades, bring up an image of your descendant. If his reactions were anything to go off of, he should be acting soon."

Hades nodded, for once not arguing about being told what to do. He too wanted to help his brother's daughter. Sure enough when the image was brought up, Severus was pushing his way through the corridors and came to a stop in front of a gargoyle.

"Nerds."

"Hey, Athena, why is he talking about your kids?"

"Shut up!"

"It is obviously a password. Look, the gargoyle moved."

Severus climbed to the top of the stairs and knocked purposefully on the door. He had spent the past half hour calming down a group of his Slytherins that had heard Ari's storm. He had finally convinced them that all was fine and to go back to what they were doing. After a few seconds, he heard the command to enter, and he did. The gods were surprised to see an old man sitting behind the desk. They turned towards Hecate for the explanation.

"His name is Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. He is the headmaster of the school."

The immortals nodded in understanding.

"Severus, my boy, are you ok? What can I do for you today?" Dumbledore asked with a twinkle in his eyes that was mixed with a bit of concern at the appearance of the teacher.

"I have come to update you on Miss Potter."

"Oh, yes. I heard from Minerva that she took quite the hit last night. I am to assume that our Miss Potter is doing well."

"About as well as can be. After fighting a troll, discovering who her birth parents are, and talking about the abuse she suffered at the hands of her 'relatives' Albus," he spat the word relatives like it was something nasty on the tip of his tongue.

"Abuse? Parents? Severus what are you talking about?"

"I believe it will be easier to explain if I just show you."

Dumbledore nodded and moved to bring out his pensieve. Hecate quickly explained what the stone basin was used for and what Severus was likely going to show Dumbledore.

"He's going to reveal us?!" Hera shouted.

"No, Dumbledore already knows that we exist. I have walked among my people many times and like the mortals, some of them are clear sighted. Albus is one such person."

The others sighed in relief. That would be acceptable.

Severus placed the memory into the pensieve and he and the headmaster entered. It took a few hours for them to view the memory from last night and today but when they came out the headmaster was noticeably pale and the twinkle was gone from his eyes.

"She will not be returning," he stated simply. "I honestly never expected Petunia to treat Ari like that. I knew that she wouldn't be the most loved child, but I at least expected Petunia to accept her."

"Not everyone shares the same ideals as you, Albus," Severus answered simply.

"We will need to locate somebody to take her in. Preferably somebody that can maintain the wards."

"If you are looking for family, that shouldn't be too difficult. Many people are related to the gods without even knowing it."

The twinkle returned to the headmaster's eyes so suddenly that Severus took a step back. He quickly reflected on what he had just said and groaned. He had just given him an idea.

"That is a wonderful idea, Severus. They would only have to take her in the week before, of and after her birthday."

"Yes, but Lady Magic has forbidden the gods from hooking up with her people," Severus felt he needed to point out, "You won't find a close relative. And, as I stated, most don't know that they are related."

"True, my boy, very true. But, we already know of somebody that is related to the gods and is in fact Ari's distant cousin."

Severus then realized exactly what he had got himself into. The memory had revealed the part that he was related to Hades and therefore related to Ari. He mentally groaned. He truly didn't want to have to care for the child but if it was between that and sending her back to that hell hole, he would take in the child if only for three weeks.

"Alright, I will take her in, but only through the week after her birthday. And only until a better option is found. I am still being watched by the former Death Eaters."

"I know that. I trust that you can be the one to tell her?"

Severus sighed, "Yes." He then got a smirk on his face, "However, I want in on reporting those beasts that live at number 4 Privet Drive."

He knew that the gods were listening in. They had probably been listening in this morning if Ari looking around was any indication.

"Of course. We will plan to go to Surrey at the beginning of break."

Severus nodded. He knew that the Dursleys would be long gone by then. With that said, he left the headmaster. It was time for dinner and he didn't plan to miss it.

As soon as Hade's descendant left the office, the image was cancelled and the gods began to plan. The Dursleys would pay.

**oOo**

The next morning, while Ari was working on school work and Quidditch practice, 5 pissed immortals were making their way down Privet Drive. Their goal? Number 4, home of the Dursleys and soon-to-be the previous home of Ari Potter.

Poseidon knocked swiftly on the door. They could hear heavy footsteps from inside along with bellowing.

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!"

Vernon Dursley was not a morning person, especially on the weekends when he was supposed to be able to sleep in. So, hearing somebody banging on the front door at 8 in the morning did not put him into the best of moods. In fact, it put him into the worst of moods. He was going to tell off whoever it was that dared to disturb his Sunday morning. Even the freak knew to remain quiet until called to make breakfast.

He made his way down the stairs, yelling as he went. He hoped that whoever was banging would hear the anger in his voice and run away before he got to the door. He opened the door though and found three men, a woman and one teenage boy standing on his front stoop.

"What do you want?! Get out of here! Don't you know that it is rude to arrive unannounced this early in the morning?!"

The people in front of him looked less than impressed. In fact, if he didn't know any better, he would say that they looked livid.

The man in the front of the group was wearing leather sandals, khaki Bermuda shorts, and a shirt with coconuts and parrots on it.

"Is this the Dursley residence?"

"Yes. What do you want?"

"We need to speak to yourself and your wife about the child that you have been caring for."

"What do you want to talk about Dudley for? He hasn't done anything!"

Poseidon shook his head, "You misunderstand me. We are here to talk about the _other_ child that resides in this house."

Quicker than any of them thought possible for a mortal, Vernon's face turned pale, green, red and then a vivid shade of purple. The Iris children would have been impressed with the array of colors.

"There is no other child in this house! Leave my family alone! We don't want any _freaks_ here!"

Zeus and Hades subtly stepped forward alongside their brother.

"Mr. Dursley, do you really want to have this conversation out here where _anybody_ can see and hear us," Zeus questioned while Hades tried to prevent Poseidon from killing the man before them.

"Alright, get in," Vernon snapped as he began to make his way to the sitting room, "Petunia get down here!"

The 5 immortals followed the man. Upon realizing that there were not enough seats, they each conjured up their own. They noticed that Vernon flinched at their display of what he presumed to be magic.

Petunia Dursley entered the room followed by her son Dudley Dursley who was busy trying to walk while stuffing his face full of waffles. Athena was openly looking at the three mortals in pure disgust. Triton was wondering how his sister had learned any form of the manners that they had seen growing up with three animals as family. He shuddered. She was going to be traumatized for years to come.

Petunia took a look around and then looked at her husband.

"What is going on here?"

"They came asking questions about the freak," Vernon accused while pointing at the gods.

Petunia paled.

"Well, they can just leave can't they. The child is at the freak school so there is no reason for them to be here."

By now, Zeus had joined Hades in trying to hold onto Poseidon. After a few minutes of struggling, Triton decided that they needed to continue with what they came here to do.

"We are here, Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, to talk about the way that you have treated my sister growing up. So please sit down, shut up, and listen!"

This gained everybody's attention and Poseidon stopped trying to kill off the Dursleys, at least, for now.

Athena decided that it was her turn to talk.

"Yes, we have heard from reliable sources that you were given our daughter to take care of and treat as your own. However, it seems as though you have failed to do that."

"Now just wait a moment!" Petunia shouted. "The girl is an orphan. Her parents gave her up for adoption and then my good for nothing sister and her lazy husband went and got themselves killed. She has no parents!"

"Yes, she was put up for adoption however it was not because her parents were dead. At the time, they could not take care of her," Hades explained.

"Now, they have come looking for their daughter, only to find that she is beaten, starved, and neglected," Zeus added.

The Dursleys paled. If this was the girl's birth family, then they were in major trouble.

"Well then, if you want the child, take her! You can pick her up at the train station on June 5th."

"We were already planning on taking custody of her. However that does not erase the fact that you saw fit to abuse a child!" Athena snapped.

Poseidon decided to get this finished.

"I am Poseidon, Lord of the Seas, Second son of Titan King Kronos and father of Ari. And you..." he gave a bitter laugh, smiling wickedly, "have made a grave error."

The gods realized that it was time to finish this. Athena stood up next. Only she and Poseidon were going to introduce themselves.

"I am Athena, Goddess of wisdom, handicrafts, useful arts, and battle strategy, Daughter of Zeus and mother of Ari. And might I say that I have never met anyone possessing as little intellect as you do." Her stormy grey eyes flashed with a terrifying victory.

Petunia Dursley looked as though she was about to be sick. Vernon Dursley began to yell profanities at the immortals, and Dudley continued to stuff his face. He never even realized that he would soon never be seen again on Privet Drive. Nobody on the street seemed to notice the abnormal amount of birds flying around the neighborhood. The weatherman received many phone calls about not being able to predict the weather properly. However, other than that, there were no signs of the gods' irritation.

A few hours later, all was silent. Hermes called the local realtor to inform them that a house on Privet Drive was abandoned and to please sell it. The realtor was ecstatic. Homes in that neighborhood were well sought after. With all of this done, the Olympians returned to their homes and jobs in time for a late lunch.

**oOo**

Ari Potter didn't realize what her new found family had done for her. She would remain oblivious until the beginning of winter holidays. The month of November continued, and Ari was busier than she had ever thought possible. A week after that morning meeting with Professor Snape, the first Quidditch game of the year was played; Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. All the game managed to do was make Ari even more nervous. She seriously hoped that her games were not _that_ violent.

Serra continued commenting throughout the whole game to point out the weaknesses and strengths of the other teams. The rest of the team helped by pointing out different maneuvers that they had either practiced or were specific to the team performing them. Ari had to admit that it was easier to see what the maneuvers were supposed to look like when she wasn't part of them. The game finally ended with Gryffindor being victorious.

As the month progressed, Ari continued to manage her homework, her extra lessons, and Quidditch. Caillen and Keina played a major hand in helping her. Caillen still looked at her essays and told her flat out when she was writing below par. Draco assisted her in potions, which was becoming a bit more difficult. Hermione was kind enough to occasionally grab books for her from the library when she didn't have time.

Overall, some of the students were starting to wonder why a first year was running around with the workload of a fifth year. When asked by Professor McGonagall if she was okay, she just smiled and stated that she was having to relearn time management. All of the teachers had, of course, been informed of her affinity for water. That was the explanation for her extra lessons.

Eventually though, November 29th arrived, and with it, Ari's first Quidditch game. Ari woke up at 6 and found that she couldn't fall back asleep. She decided to go up to the library in the common room and see if she could decide what to buy her friends for Christmas. Earlier in the month, she had asked Hermione for some muggle shopping catalogues. Hermione hadn't had any at the time, but yesterday, her parents had sent her some via an owl from Diagon Alley. Ari knew already what she was going to get Draco and Ron. She knew that she would get a good laugh out of it. The only issue was how to mail in her order.

She had just finished filling out the order forms when the rest of the team arrived in the common room. Serra saw Ari already dressed and walked over to her.

"How long have you been up? You do realize that you won't perform well without enough sleep. Did you have to pick today to not get a good night's sleep?! I mean, really, it is our first game of the year!"

"Good morning to you too Serra. I have only been up for about an hour. I discovered that I couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided to spend the time ordering Christmas gifts."

The rest of the team chuckled at this. Only Ari seemed to have the skill to calm down Serra in a few sentences. Ari quickly cleaned up her belongings placing them on a shelf on the side wall, and followed the rest of the team down to breakfast.

It wasn't long before the Hufflepuff team arrived and shortly after them, the rest of the school began to trickle in. Ari's friends, minus Neville, quickly walked over and joined her at the Ravenclaw table. They had all agreed to sit with their own houses when they played for Quidditch.

"You really need to eat something Ari," Hermione tried to pressure.

"I am not hungry, Hermione. If I eat any more than I already have, I am likely going to be sick."

A few minutes later, Serra told the team that it was time to go. Ari's friends quickly wished her luck, and she followed the others. In the changing room, after everybody was changed, Serra gave the team a pep talk involving out-thinking the opponent and not making stupid mistakes that could have been avoided by using one's brain.

While Ari was getting ready for the game, Professor Dumbledore was greeting some guests down at the main gate. Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall were with him.

"Where are they, Albus? We are going to be late!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed.

"Don't worry so, Minerva. I have informed Rolanda to hold off the start of the match until we arrive."

"Relax Minerva, they will be here soon."

As if summoned by Professor Snape's words, there was suddenly a bright light. The three professors averted their eyes. After the light died down, they turned back and there were 16 people standing before them that had not been there before.

Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape quickly bowed their heads in respect. Professor McGonagall had no idea what was going on.

"Bow your head Minerva!" Severus hissed at his colleague. Now was not the time for idiotic Gryffindor pride.

Minerva did as urged. Suddenly there was chuckling.

"You can rise."

The three did as beckoned and saw that for the most part the guests were smiling at them.

A woman that looked remarkably similar to Ari stepped forward.

"I believe that we have a game to go and see."

"Of course, Lady Athena," Professor Dumbledore answered and began to lead the group to the Quidditch pitch.

"Are we correctly under the assumption that Ari is playing today?" the teenage boy asked.

"Yes, Lord Triton. Ari is playing as seeker for Ravenclaw today," Severus answered.

"Avoid the formalities Severus. We don't need to draw too much attention to ourselves," Hades informed his descendant.

"Of course, Great-grandfather."

Apollo and Hermes started laughing while Hades just rolled his eyes.

Professor McGonagall was shocked by the names that she was hearing. She turned a questioning look to the headmaster, but it was caught by Athena.

"Are you confused about something?"

Professor McGonagall turned towards the lady that had questioned her.

"Yes, ma'am. I am curious as to who you are in relation to Miss Potter."

Athena smiled. This woman knew how to get straight to the point. Poseidon answered for her.

"We are Ari's parents. I am Poseidon, her father. And Athena is her mother. I am sure based on that you can guess the relations of everybody else."

Professor McGonagall was shocked. If these people where who their names suggested they were, then Miss Potter was going to be a lot stronger than they had all originally thought. This also explained Ari's additional lessons. She turned to her colleague.

"Would you care to explain your relation, Severus?" she questioned.

"I would think that it was obvious, Minerva. I have already claimed that one is my Great-grandfather. Therefore, based on who he obviously is, you should be able to make the connection that Ari and I are distant cousins."

"Severus, considering that I look to be about your age right now and not a 100+ years old man, just call me brother or something!" Hades exclaimed. Honestly, he wasn't as picky about formalities when with family as Zeus was. Poseidon didn't seem to care at all. Respect was good but if you're family just the title of cousin was fine, otherwise it could become awkward if anybody else overheard.

By now, they had arrived in the stands and were taking their seats. The gods looked around and were surprised by just how many blessed ones Hecate had. And this was only one of their schools.

"You may wish to cover your ears!" Dumbledore warned while casting the Sonorus charm.

"YOU MAY BEGIN, MADAME HOOCH."

He then quickly ended the charm. That seemed to get the game started as 14 players walked out onto the field. The immortals were able to quickly identify Ari as she was the smallest person wearing blue and on the field. Both teams gathered around Madame Hooch in the middle of the field.

"Alright, I want a nice clean game from everybody! Mount your brooms!"

Ari quickly climbed on to her broom. Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on her whistle and suddenly 14 students rose into the air as one.

"And they're off!" Lee Jordan, Gryffindor and best friend of Ron's twin brothers, was the announcer for the Quidditch games.

Professor McGonagall was sitting next to him to monitor him. The immortals were right behind him. Professor McGonagall just hoped that he behaved himself.

"The quaffle is snatched up immediately by Cho Chang of Ravenclaw. A wonderful chaser and very attractive too; however, boys, hands off - she is taken by Mister Diggory!"

"JORDAN!"

"Sorry Professor!"

Hermes and Apollo started laughing. The other gods were also having difficulty controlling their laughter. Even Artemis was enjoying herself. Athena and Poseidon always kept one eye on Ari and the other on the game.

"Cho passes to Gwen Reed 7th year prefect. This is her final year and it looks as though she plans on going out with a bang. She passes the quaffle back to Chang, who passes to Alex Hale and- NO! It has been intercepted."

"The Hufflepuffs are in possession and are making their way down the pitch with Malcolm Preece in possession. Preece throws and misses. A wonderful save by Ravenclaw keeper and captain, Serra Stone."

The Ravenclaws in the stands began to cheer as their keeper made the spectacular save. The immortals in the audience clapped politely. They became a bit nervous when Ari decided to do a couple loops after the save.

"Zeus," Poseidon started.

"I already told you - I am not going to knock her out of the sky!"

"Ravenclaw takes possession of the quaffle- chaser Chang passes the quaffle to Hale- Hale does a nice job dodging Heidi Macavoy- the Ravenclaws are swiftly moving up the field. OUCH! Chang takes a bludger shot by Anthony Rickett to the stomach. The Ravenclaw beater Trenton Raines retaliates by sending the bludger right back towards Tamsin who took possession of the Quaffle after Hale's fumble."

"This game is getting quite violent," Hestia yelled over the roar of the crowd.

The other immortals nodded. They were starting to get worried about how Ari would fare. So far, she had been fine, because she had been staying well above the action. The most that she had done was those couple of loops.

"Quit whining Hestia! Hecate, I love this sport!" Ares yelled.

Everybody rolled their eyes, of course Ares would love anything with this much violence in it.

"We are now a half hour into the game with Ravenclaw in possession! And now-wait! Is that the snitch!"

Everybody stood on their feet, including the immortals, to watch as the Hufflepuff seeker, Cedric Diggory and Ari raced after the snitch. They were weaving through the other players who seemed to have stopped mid-game to watch the chase. They watched as Ari and Cedric fell into a hair raising nose dive after the snitch. They were neck and neck and then suddenly Ari heard something coming towards them. She chanced a glance to the left and had just enough time to pull back as a bludger, shot by Maxine O'Flaherty who had finally come out of her daze, just barely missed her nose. Cedric too pulled back as it then almost hit him.

Cedric and Ari looked at each other and laughed.

"They were right. You do have talent," Cedric stated as he flew off once more to look for the snitch.

"Oh my gods!" Hestia muttered as she tried to get her heart rate to slow down again.

"You can say that again," Athena responded.

Ares was still jumping up and down as a bludger was shot at the Hufflepuff chaser trying to score.

"So, after that hair raising chase that failed to produce results on both sides, both teams have deemed it worthy of their time to resume the game!"

"Got to admit, the kid has a talent for keeping the game interesting while being very bluntly honest," Apollo yelled to Hermes who nodded.

They were all enjoying the game. Zeus had kept a close eye on Ari as she had flown towards the ground. He knew that if he could help her he would. If only to keep Poseidon from going into a panic attack.

"Hale has the quaffle once more and is ducking and dodging bludgers and players. He seems very interested in finally getting Ravenclaw on the board. We are about an hour and a half into the game and there is still no score. Scratch that! Ravenclaw scores 10 to nothing!"

Ari let off a couple more loops and almost got hit by a bludger.

"Focus, Ari!" Trenton yelled as he streaked past her.

He hit the bludger towards Preece who was trying to score on Serra again. Just as Trenton raced after the bludger to hit it towards another player, Ari's broom gave a frightful lurch that almost unseated her.

She gripped the broom tightly and tried to regain control; however, it continued to lurch and raise higher and higher into the air. Ari knew for a fact that this was not normal broom behavior. Something was seriously wrong. Unfortunately, her broom was rising higher and higher and very few people seemed to notice. Luckily for her, among the people that _did_ notice were the immortals and Severus Snape.

Professor Snape saw what was happening and immediately began to chant in Latin, maintaining eye contact at all times. Athena began to scan the crowd trying to find out who was aiming to harm her daughter. Zeus was trying to use the winds around Ari to keep her from rising even higher than she already had. He managed to stop her upward movement; however, whatever was trying to harm her was preventing him from lowering her back down.

Artemis and Apollo quickly alerted Professor McGonagall to the situation, and she immediately pointed it out to Lee.

"Something is going on with Ari Potter's broom!"

With that one statement, all eyes were on Ari. The teams immediately stopped playing and raced over to try and help her. Playing didn't matter right now. Ari was about 150 feet in the air and in danger of falling.

Serra flew right up to Ari who was still trying to keep a hold on her broom. It gave another lurch and rose another five feet.

"Ari! What is going on?"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

Alex and Cedric appeared on her left and right. The rest of the players were either circling below her or completing the circle around her to try and prevent the broom from going any further. Trenton moved forward to try and pull her on to his broom; however, all that happened was that Ari was finally unseated and hanging on to her broom with one hand.

"ARI!"

"We can't get close to her!" Gwen yelled as she tried. The broom just rose another five feet.

"Shoot! Somebody get a professor out here! This isn't time to worry about the game!" Serra instructed while keeping an eye on her first year seeker.

Alex talked to Ari trying to keep her calm while she dangled. It didn't help much, but it kept her thinking logically.

"Do you think you can swing back up?"

"Only if it stops lurching every time that I try to!"

"Can you get your other hand up?"

"Again, it tries to toss me every time I try! Can we please just get it to stop?!"

"We are working on it!"

"Cedric, Trenton move to position yourselves directly below Ari. If she falls, try and catch her!"

While the players were trying to solve this, Hermione had snatched Ron's binoculars and was scanning the crowd until her eyes landed on one person over in the teacher's box.

"Snape is jinxing the broom!" She shouted to Ron. In the pandemonium, he was the only person that heard her.

"What do we do?" Ron was in full panic mode.

Hermione drew her wand and started to head out of the stands stating, "Leave it to me," as she left.

Draco and Neville were with their houses and were not faring much better than Ron. Both were worried about their friend falling to the ground. Hermione finally made it over to the teachers' box and was working her way over to Professor Snape. On her way over, she was tripped by someone moving suddenly and fell into Professor Quirrell. She made it to Professor Snape.

"Lacarnum Inflamarae!" Hermione muttered pointing her wand at Professor Snape's robes.

The reaction was instantaneous as a stranger looked down and saw him on fire. Hermione quickly fled.

Hephaestus was the first person to realize that there was a fire. He looked around quickly until he saw that it was Severus on fire.

"Severus! You're on fire!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

Luckily Triton and Poseidon heard the warning and put out the fire. This had the benefit of Severus not having to stop chanting, but it also completely soaked him. However, it did the trick. Right as the fire was put out, Ari was able to climb back onto her broom.

"You okay to continue Ari?" Serra questioned.

All the players were looking at her as though they were worried that she was going to collapse 175 feet in the air.

"Yeah, let's go."

"Alright then," Serra signaled to Madame Hooch that the game could continue and it did.

"So, after that thrilling mid-game action-"

"Jordan! Show some respect!" Professor McGonagall yelled while looking at the royally peeved immortals in the stands.

"I mean after that absolutely terrifying-"

"Jordan!"

"Alright, alright. The Ravenclaw seeker nearly falls to her death, which could happen to anybody, I'm sure. So anyways, the game has resumed and Ravenclaw is in possession."

Ari really just wanted to end this game. She began to look harder for the snitch than she had before. She noticed though that the other players were keeping an eye on her as well as their tasks.

'Oh, great! Now, I am going to have to convince everybody that I am not too young to play!’

At that moment, movement caught Ari's eye. She looked over to her right and saw that Cedric was chasing the snitch. The bad news was that Cedric was closer. The good news was that it was heading straight for Ari!

Ari put on a burst of speed to try and close the gap. Just as Ari was about to reach it, the snitch once again began a descent towards the ground. Both seekers gave chase. As it came right up on the ground, the seekers began a game of chicken. In the end, Cedric pulled out of the dive. Ari followed the snitch as it skimmed the ground. She then began to chase it a mere foot off the ground. With a final burst of speed, Ari reached out and grabbed the snitch, thus ending her first Quidditch game.

"ARI POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! ARI POTTER RECEIVES 150 POINTS FOR CATCHING THE SNITCH AND THE GAME IS OVER!"

Ari landed and was immediately surrounded by her team. They all looked thrilled; however, there was a hint of concern in their eyes.

Serra grabbed Ari's shoulder and began to steer her out of the stadium.

"Come on Ari."

"Where are we going?"

" _You_ are getting looked at by Madame Pomfrey to make sure that you are okay," Alex responded.

Ari rolled her eyes but knew better than to argue. It would do her no good.

The team swiftly made their way into the Hospital Wing. Somehow, Madame Pomfrey already knew to expect their arrival and immediately set to looking over Ari. She ran a full diagnostic after being hinted at it by Severus. What the result found had her stunned.

"You are staying overnight, Miss Potter. And probably all day tomorrow as well."

The team was in an instant panic.

"What's wrong!?"

"She didn't fall!"

"Is she going to be okay?"

"Alright, that's enough!" Madame Pomfrey finally shouted to regain order. "Miss Potter has some previous injuries that apparently never healed properly. She can either stay now and get them healed, or she can be benched until she does get them healed."

The team looked at Ari wide eyed.

"You were injured?!" Gwen yelled.

"Not that I know of," Ari responded.

Serra looked hard at Ari, "You will remain here until Madame Pomfrey clears you, Ari. If you don't, I will have no choice but to bench you. Believe me Ari, I don't want to, but I will."

Ari nodded. She didn't have much choice. She turned to look at Madame Pomfrey.

"What exactly needs to be healed?"

This question gained everybody's attention.

Madame Pomfrey sighed she really didn't like what she was about to have to say, "I need to re-break numerous bones that have healed wrong. You also seem to have some injuries on you back that are well beyond being infected," here she turned to the team. "After I release her, she needs to gain some weight; she is severely malnourished. However, I will leave that to you to get her to eat properly."

The team nodded their acceptance to the task set before them.

"I speak for the team when I say that it will be done. Since Ari sits at the other tables, I will inform the other teams to see to it as well," Serra responded.

Gwen stepped up, "I will inform the prefects along with the head boy and girl. Ari will be made to eat properly at meals."

Ari groaned, “Great! I am going to be stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey!"

About half an hour later, the heads of houses and the gods arrived and the team left. Poseidon and Athena walked up to their daughter.

"You played extremely well," Poseidon stated awkwardly.

"Yes, if you mean pulling death defying stunts every five minutes! I am pretty sure that I saw _Thanatos_ at the edge of the field at one point!" Athena yelled.

"You did," Hades confirmed.

This caused everybody to pale. Ari had been very close to death then. Ari couldn't think of anything to say. She looked towards her professors.

"Poppy, is everything alright with Miss Potter?" Dumbledore asked.

"I need to heal some old injuries that didn't heal properly. As such, Miss Potter, is remaining here for the remainder of the weekend."

Madame Pomfrey handed Ari a potion.

"Down it in one. Trust me - you want to be asleep when I re-break the bones."

Ari nodded and downed the potion. The Olympians paled at the mention of breaking bones.

"Is that really necessary?" Hermes asked.

Apollo looked over at the child and flinched, "Yes, it is necessary. How she has full motion of her hands, I don't know."

Zeus turned to Dionysus who was standing in a corner, "Return to camp. The game is over and you are still being punished."

Dionysus groaned but did as he was told. As he left, the occupants could hear phrases such as "shouldn't have been off limits" and "too harsh on such a minor offense." Ari had, in the meantime, fallen asleep.

Artemis noticed this first and smiled, "I think we had best be leaving. Ari is asleep anyway so she won't be much for conversation."

There were mutters of agreement as the immortals made their way to the exit. Hades stopped next to his 'brother.'

"Keep us informed of her progress. If anything happens let us know."

Severus nodded. He was now responsible for a mortal goddess. He wasn't foolish enough to keep anything important from the council.

"Come on Triton!" Poseidon called to his son who was still hovering around his sister.

He snapped up quickly and looked a bit guilty. The adults raised their eyebrows at him. However, upon looking closer they noticed that Triton had given Ari a necklace with a charm in the shape of a conch shell. Without further word, they left and Madame Pomfrey began her work.

It was around dinner time when Madame Pomfrey made another discovery that both shocked and scared her. She quickly used the fire place to call the headmaster.

"What is it Poppy? Is something wrong with Ari?"

"Yes something is wrong!" Poppy yelled out in full panic.

"What is it? What have you found?"

"Albus, this child has no magical core. By all means, Ari should not be able to perform any sort of magic!"

This was shocking but not completely unexpected for the old professor. He looked at the child that he had over the years come to see as a granddaughter.

"Is she in any danger from remaining at Hogwarts?"

"No, from what I can tell, she is _now_ in perfect health. But she should not be able to perform the magic that she has learned thus far in school. She shouldn't even be able to get a simple lumos!"

"Alright. Calm down. Keep your eye on her. Every time she comes in, run a simple and subtle test. As long as it doesn't seem to be hurting her, and she is able to perform magic, she will remain. There is no reason to remove her if it is not hurting her. We will just monitor her closely."

Madame Pomfrey nodded her understanding.

"I am going to inform the heads of houses. Miss Potter needs to return to classes on Monday. She is in your hands until then."

With that, Dumbledore left the infirmary to inform the heads of houses what was going on. To say that they were shocked would be an understatement. However, all agreed that as long as it wasn't hurting her, there was no reason to remove Ari Potter from Hogwarts.

**xXx**

 


	12. Chapter 11

**I have much planned! This chapter was a bit difficult because I needed to move along the Sorcerer's Stone plotline. Now, I need opinions. I am planning on working this all the way through Harry Potter, PJO and HOO if possible; however, would you prefer it in one story or in individual. If individual, know that some of them are going to have to be merged due to placement in the timeline. Let me know. Thank you to grizzlybear2000 for the riddle.**

**Beta'd by Lady of Something**

**Chapter 11**

Ari woke up periodically throughout the rest of the weekend; however, it was never enough to gain full awareness. Apparently, Madame Pomfrey did not want her being able to get up and aggravate her injuries nor feel pain. Therefore, it wasn't until Monday morning that Ari was able to finally become fully aware of her surroundings. Madame Pomfrey gave her one last look over before sending her on her way.

"There will be a potion beside your plate at both breakfast and dinner. You _will_ take them. The elves will inform me if you don't," Madame Pomfrey lectured.

"Yes, ma'am," Ari responded as she changed into her school uniform. She was pulling off the hospital gown when her hand hit against something that she was sure had not been around her neck when she went to sleep.

"Madame Pomfrey, where did this necklace come from?" Ari questioned while taking a closer look at the charm. It was in the shape of a conch shell. No, it was a conch shell.

Madame Pomfrey popped her head out of her office, "Oh, one of your guests from the Quidditch game left it for you. I believe that it was a teenager."

Ari's eyes widened. One of the gods had left her a _gift_! She knew from reading the legends, that no gift came without a price. She was going to ask Professor Snape about this. She did after all have lessons with him tonight. It sounded as though the gift came from probably either Apollo, Hermes or Triton.

Her teammates had been nice enough and brought down a set of her school uniforms and her bag of books. Keina had made sure that her bag had the proper books in it before they had brought it down.

Ari made her way down to the Great Hall for breakfast and was immediately dragged over to the Gryffindor table by Fred and George.

"So, little Ari-"

"We hear that you-"

"Need to be watched-"

"To make sure that-"

"You eat enough-"

Ari was placed between Fred and George at the table. Instantly, a potion bottle appeared beside her plate. Ari noticed as she picked it up, that half of the hall seemed to be watching her closely; including the teachers. As she drank it down, she resisted the urge to bang her head repeatedly against the table. She was never going to find peace again.

She began to place food on her plate when Fred took the plate from her.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, Ari-"

"Strict orders-"

"To make sure that you eat enough," the twins finished together.

Ari looked at the plate that Fred placed in front of her and stared at it. There was no way on Earth that she was going to be able to eat all of that. The plate had no less than 2 pancakes, 1 blueberry muffin, 1 banana, 2 sausages, and three pieces of bacon.

"The only way that I will be able to eat _all_ of this, guys, is if you don't mind taking me back to Madame Pomfrey when I am done, because I will be severely sick."

She turned to look around. Everybody was watching her to make sure that she ate. She looked up at the staff table and motioned over Professor Flitwick. He came along with Professors McGonagall, Snape and Sprout.

"Is something wrong, Miss Potter?" Professor Flitwick asked. Ari noticed the worried look in all of their eyes.

She took a deep breath. She was going to have to handle this with care if she was going to get them to understand, stop worrying and not stuff her up like a turkey.

"I can't eat this much. Unless everybody wishes for me to take up permanent residency with Madame Pomfrey in the hospital wing. My stomach is too small. It isn't as small as it was at the beginning of the year but it still can't handle more than half of this."

Professor Snape took a look at the plate and realized what she was talking about. He grabbed the plate off of the table and began to take some of the food off of it. In the end, she was left with 1 pancake, 1 banana, 2 sausages, and 1 piece of bacon. Ari looked at the professor when he placed the plate back in front of her.

"Thank you."

Professor Snape nodded before motioning for the other teachers to follow him. At the staff table, there was a very quick discussion before the headmaster stood up. Instantly, everybody fell silent.

"Good morning students. Now, I know that all of you have in one way or another been made aware of Miss Potter's condition. However, I ask that the task of helping her please be restricted to the teachers, prefects and anybody else that Madame Pomfrey assigned the task to." Here he gave a meaningful look over to the Ravenclaw Quidditch team that looked about ready to revolt.

"Nobody is to question Miss Potter as to what caused the condition and nobody is to make it more difficult for her than it already is. It will be considered a form of severe bullying. Now, off to classes."

As the students began to file out of the Great Hall, the Quidditch captains made their way over to Ari.

"Ari, a word please," Serra called to her seeker.

Ari nodded and made her way over. She quickly noticed that it wasn't just Serra, but also, Oliver Wood, Anthony Rickett, and Marcus Flint.

"Ummm….do you need something?" Ari asked hesitantly. She really didn't want to get into any fights this early in the morning.

"We want to make sure that you are feeling ok," Oliver stated when it seemed like nobody else was going to.

"Yeah, I feel fine. Madame Pomfrey kept me knocked out all weekend. Unfortunately, that means that I missed a weekend of homework."

Serra nodded understandingly while the others just rolled their eyes. Leave it to a Ravenclaw to be worried about _homework_.

"Potter, homework is not the issue right now," Marcus commented dryly. "We are asking about your health. You do realize that Madame Pomfrey had to re-break nearly half the bones in your body. That's not including the infection that was in your back. How you were able to walk, let alone fly is beyond me."

"Oh," was all that Ari could say.

Serra felt some sympathy for her seeker. "Ari you don't have to tell us, but if you want to talk about what happened, any of us are willing to talk. As you have noticed, the other teams have been informed and will help keep an eye out for bullying."

Ari realized that all of them, or at least the students, thought that she was being bullied and the teachers were leaving it at that. As far as Ari knew, only Professor Snape knew about what went on at the Dursleys.

"Thank you."

The others smiled at the young seeker. None of them wanted to see her hurt. Anthony quickly wrote a note for Ari - he was a prefect - and they all departed for their classes. Ari ran down to the dungeons; however, she was still about 10 minutes late for Potions. Professor Snape was not happy.

"So wonderful of you to join us, Miss Potter. Perhaps instead of lessons tonight, I should assign a detention instead."

Ari walked to the front of the class where he was standing and silently handed him the note. After reading it, he motioned for her to join Keina at their table. The rest of the class went relatively smoothly until Seamus somehow managed to explode his and Stephen's potion.

"You idiot!" Professor Snape yelled, "Do you know how to read the directions or does nothing penetrate that empty head of yours."

Ari winced at the reprimand. It didn't matter that it wasn't aimed at her, it still brought up way too many memories. Professor Snape was not completely oblivious to her reaction and reminded himself to talk with her some more during their lessons.

"Clean up and throw out your potions. Thanks to Mr. Finnegan and Mr. Stephen, all of your potions are now ruined. Let's see, that will be 20 points from both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. Now, leave. Miss Potter remain behind."

Professor Snape waited until the rest of the class before beginning.

"Lessons will be at the same time as normal tonight. We will continue working on control. Hopefully, we will be able to start weapons in the new year."

"Sir, if I wanted to mail order something from a muggle store, how would I go about doing that?"

"Bring the order tonight and we will take care of it."

"Yes, sir."

"Now, off to class."

Ari managed to take notes for about half of history, before falling asleep. Honestly, she was going to have to ask Helena, the Ravenclaw ghost, advice on how to stay awake in Binn's class. Transfiguration was not much better as, by then, Ari's hands were starting to feel a little bit stiff. At dinner, there were two potions for her to take and a note appeared on her plate.

**Miss Potter,**

**Professor McGonagall informed me that your hands were starting to bother you. The second potion should take care of that. Next time, just come to me and don't wait.**

**Madame Pomfrey**

Hermione saw the note and gave an exasperated sigh.

"Honestly, Ari. You need to start taking better care of yourself. It is no wonder that half the school is now watching for you to so much as get a paper cut. If you were to actually get help when you need it, they might back off."

Ari just nodded. There was no point in telling them what had caused the injuries. The entire group decided to use a spare classroom to study in. They weren't supposed to be in each other's dorms and they couldn't talk in the library. However, the spare classrooms were open for use as long as they were not locked.

"Ok, Ari, what time are your lessons at?" Hermione asked once they had got settled.

"Same time as normal Hermione."

"Then we only have an hour."

They got to work on their transfigurations essays and herbology sketches of Devil's Snare. They were about a half hour into when Ari finally got tired of the looks being exchanged between Hermione and Ron and the glares that Draco was sending both of them.

"Alright, will somebody tell me what is going on?"

Neville decided to be the one talk because the others were still too busy glaring at each other.

"Ron and Hermione believe that Professor Snape tried to kill you at the Quidditch game. Draco believes that they don't know what they are talking about and shouldn't make assumptions without facts."

Ari looked at her friends in complete surprise. Professor Snape had been trying to save her, not kill her. Even if he had wanted to kill her, he wouldn't have tried anything with the entire Olympian council there.

"You are both nuts! If Professor Snape had wanted to kill me, he could have done it weeks before the game without having to try that hard. He very easily could have made it look like an accident."

"Exactly, that's why you shouldn't go to these lessons, Ari. At least not until we know why he was trying to kill you," Hermione declared with Ron nodding in the background.

"You are both being idiots. Professor Snape is not trying to kill Ari!" Draco yelled.

"Prove it!" Ron bellowed.

"Why don't you?!"

"He was muttering and maintaining eye contact. Those are the characteristics of a curse," Hermione stated.

"Those are also the characteristics of counter-curses, Hermione," Ari retorted, "Now, I am leaving before I am late, again."

With that, Ari gathered up her belongings and headed towards the dungeons. She had a feeling that the study group wasn't going to last much longer tonight. She arrived at two to seven and knocked.

"Enter."

"Good evening, Professor,"

"Good evening, Ari. I have told you before, when you are here for these lessons, you are here as my cousin, not my student."

"Sorry, Severus."

Severus nodded, "Good, now let's begin from where we left off last Friday, before your incident."

With that stated, Ari and Severus began to practice the lessons on control. About half an hour into the lessons, Severus called a break. It wouldn't do for Ari to wear herself out. Her control was getting better though.

"Professor, do we yet know who was trying to curse my broom on Saturday?"

Severus sighed, he had wondered when this question was going to come up, "No, we are still looking into it."

"Ron and Hermione somehow saw you muttering in the stands, they think that you were the one to curse my broom."

"Then, am I to assume that Miss Granger was the one to set my robes on fire?"

"I don't know."

"Now, before we continue, you said that you wished to mail something?"

"Yeah, I wanted to order something for Ron and Draco for Christmas."

Severus eyebrows raised above his hairline as the meaning of her words caught up to him.

"You are getting them muggle items?"

"Yep," Ari answered with a devious smirk that Severus thought Slytherin worthy.

"Do I want to know?"

"Nope."

"Alright. Well, we can send it by Hermes Express. He will send through your order and then mail it to you. This way you don't have to deal with trying to manage muggle shopping in the magical world."

He handed Ari an envelope and instructed her in how to put in her order forms into the envelope. She was about to put the money into the envelope but Severus stopped her.

"You need to use either muggle currency or Ancient currency. I can give you the ancient currency in the exchange for your magical currency."

Ari handed him the magical currency and he dropped in the amount that was needed to pay for the mail order. As soon as the envelope was sealed, it vanished with a pop.

"Alright, is there anything else that you wished to do before we continue lessons?"

"Actually, I wanted to ask you about this," Ari stated as she pulled out the conch shell necklace.

Severus' eyes widened. That couldn't be what he thought it was.

"Where did you get that?"

"It was around my neck when I woke up. Madame Pomfrey told me that one of the visiting teens put it around my neck. I was guessing either Apollo, Artemis, or Triton."

"You are correct in your rationalizing. It is the symbol of your brother. It is stated in the legends, our history, that he gave a conch to those that he promised to protect. It was a method for them to contact him and for him to watch over them. I am not sure how it works exactly."

"There is a price with it though, isn't there?" Ari asked hesitantly. She really wanted to accept the gift from her brother but wanted to know what the cost was.

"In most cases, yes there is normally a price with gifts. However, I have heard of gods giving gifts to those that they favored. If I remember correctly, your father loved to give the gift of swords to his favored children."

"So, it is safe, then?"

Severus looked right at Ari, "Yes, child, it is safe. I believe that your brother wanted to be able to keep an eye on you. Especially after hearing what your childhood was like. I can almost guarantee you that if he can prevent harm from coming to you, he will."

Ari groaned, she knew what that meant. "Basically, what you are saying is that I have just gained an overprotective older brother."

Severus smirked, "And mother, father, aunts, uncles, cousins. Pretty much everybody; though they may not always act like it. Now, let's continue the lesson."

Their lesson continued on until it was ten minutes to curfew and then Professor Snape dismissed Ari. Near the end of the week, Professor Flitwick came around with a list for the students who were going to remain over winter break to sign. Both Ari and Ron were staying. However, the rest of their group was to go home. Draco didn't look too pleased at the idea.

"Apparently, my father has been receiving news about me since the beginning of the school year."

The rest of the group seemed nervous about this revelation.

"You know that if something happens, you can return to Hogwarts, right?" Caillen questioned.

"Yeah, I have it set up with Professor Snape. he will give an emergency portkey just in case. Hopefully, it is just a precaution."

The rest of the group agreed and they continued on eating their lunch. December continued to progress, and Ari, along with the other students that could not go to Hogsmeade, mail ordered Christmas gifts for her friends. The week after she sent off the mail order with Hermes Express, the package arrived. Professor Snape had had a great laugh after Ari had explained the meaning behind the gifts.

Finally, the last week of classes arrived, and all the teachers except for Professors Snape, Quirrell and Binns gave up teaching. Professor McGonagall had the students transfiguring toothpicks into Christmas decorations and gifts. Professor Flitwick had them taking those decorations and charming them to sing, change colors, or glow. Professor Sprout had them growing the magical version of mistletoe. All in all, it was a very festive atmosphere that surrounded Hogwarts.

The last evening before the students left, was filled with the exchanging of gifts. They all warned each other not to open them before Christmas. Ron and Ari showed the others off before heading up to Ravenclaw Tower. The students had been informed that over break, if the other occupants didn't mind, they were allowed inside of the other common rooms.

Ari knocked on the door and awaited the riddle.

_I can be quick and then I'm deadly,_

_I am a rock, shell and bone medley._

_If I was made into a man, I'd make people dream,_

_I gather in my millions by ocean, sea and stream._

_What am I?_

Ari looked at Ron to see if he wanted to try and answer. However, he was just staring at the door as if it was insane. Ari laughed and answered the riddle. She continued to chuckle as they entered and took the seats nearest the fire. Not many students had decided to stay this winter. The Weasleys were the only Gryffindors, Ari was the only Ravenclaw and then there were a few Hufflepuffs and Slytherins. Overall, there were maybe 10 students here.

"What the bloody hell was wrong with that door?" Ron finally snapped.

"Nothing, that is how one gets into Ravenclaw Tower. Rowena Ravenclaw wanted her students to seek knowledge for knowledge's sake and to always be learning. So, instead of just memorizing a password, we have to answer a riddle. Since I am here alone though, I better hope that I am able to answer them. Because otherwise, I will not be getting back into the tower until the others come back."

Ron took out his chess board and began to teach Ari the finer points of Wizard's chess. Ari caught on rather quickly since it was pretty much the exact same as regular chess only the pieces moved by themselves. However, she held no hope of beating Ron. After dinner, Ron went up to Gryffindor Tower and Ari returned to Ravenclaw Tower. Ari decided to get a head start on her homework. She actually finished it that night. She knew that the same would not be able to be said for Ron.

The next morning, Ari woke up to a pop behind her from near her bedroom door. She looked around to see an elfin creature standing in her doorway. The creature was wearing a uniform with a family symbol on it.

"Can I help you?" Ari questioned.

The creature refused to look directly at Ari and looked extremely nervous.

"Rigby is here to inform Miss Potter that she is needed in the Hospital Wing by Master Snape."

"You are Professor Snape's house elf," Ari stated in realization.

At this comment, Rigby stood straighter and looked right at Ari.

"I am the house elf responsible for looking after the master while he is at school."

"Why does he need me?" Ari questioned while starting to get dressed

"Master does not bes telling, Rigby. Rigby is just doing as Rigby is ordered."

"Then let's go."

Ari quickly grabbed her cloak and followed the house elf.

Rigby led Ari down to the Hospital Wing. Upon arrival, she was greeted by not only Professor Snape, but also Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout, the Headmaster, and Madame Pomfrey.

Rigby walked up to Professor Snape and bowed.

"Rigby is bringing Miss Potter to Master."

"You have done well," Professor Snape responded but still kept his attention on the bed in front of him.

"Come here, Miss Potter. Perhaps you can answer a few questions for us," Madame Pomfrey instructed.

Ari walked forward. Once she was standing beside her Professors, she got a better look at the bed and almost screamed. There on the bed laying extremely pale and still, was Draco Malfoy. He looked like one enormous bruise. His face was swollen and Ari could see the bulk of the bandages he had on under the hospital gown.

"What happened to him?!" Ari shouted looking at her teachers.

Professor Sprout placed a hand on Ari's shoulder.

"Calm down, Miss Potter," Professor McGonagall instructed.

"Draco activated his emergency portkey last night and was transported to my quarters. I then quickly brought him down here," Professor Snape informed his student.

Ari paled. She had tried to get Draco to stay behind. She didn't realize that she had said that last part out loud.

"You knew that something like this might happen?" Professor Flitwick questioned his raven.

Ari shook her head, "All we knew was that Lord Malfoy had somehow been receiving reports on Draco and was not happy from the sounds of his recent letters. Draco brushed off our worries and told us that he already had a plan in place with Professor Snape. So, we dropped it."

Ari started crying. "We honestly thought that with the plan, he would be fine. If I had known that this was going to happen, I would have locked him in Ravenclaw Tower until after the train had left."

The teachers nodded. That seemed about right for the group.

"Is he going to be alright?" Ari asked quietly.

Here the teachers all gave a small smile.

"He should be fine within a few weeks. He will be awake by Christmas but won't be able to do much. He will be extremely exhausted," Madame Pomfrey informed the child.

"I have already had the house elves fetch his presents and school supplies from his house. They will continue to return there until young Mr. Malfoy is moved out. He won't be returning," the Headmaster added.

With all of this explained, Ari was sent off to 'enjoy' her break. She decided to go for a walk around the lake before spending the rest of the day reading some ancient myths. Despite these distractions and the joy she felt at being free, she still felt a constant worry for her friend. But most of the time, she was able to brush it off, rationalising that, if something were to happen to Draco, Severus would inform her of the blonde's health.

Christmas arrived a few days later, and Ari was once more awoken by the sound of a pop somewhere in her room. She quickly looked around and saw that once more Rigby was standing in her doorway.

"Morning, Rigby. Am I summoned again?"

The small house elf nodded. He liked the way that the young Miss treated him.

"Young Miss is asked to come to the Great Hall. All of your presents be there already."

Ari raised her eyebrow at that.

"I thought Christmas presents were opened in common rooms."

Once more the elf nodded, "Normally, yes, Miss. But, Headmaster believes it bes better to have all together in the Great Hall. Especially since some like young Miss are alone in their rooms."

Ari nodded at the logic and quickly changed. She then followed Rigby down to the Great Hall. Once there, she spotted the Weasleys, the Professors and the few other students all sitting around one table together. Amongst the occupants, was Draco.

"Happy Christmas, Ari," the twins called out

"Happy Christmas to you two, also!" Ari laughed.

"Well, come on in. The elves have set up a wonderful breakfast."

Ari walked over to the table and sat between Draco and Ron.

"Are you feeling okay, Draco?" Ari asked in concern.

Draco gave her a small smile before answering softly, "Yeah, Father just caught me off guard. I didn't expect to be ambushed as soon as I entered the door."

The breakfast was a wonderful, simple little affair. Once done eating his own food, Professor Snape realized something.

"Well, Madame Pomfrey, you should be pleased."

"Why, Severus?"

"Miss Potter just ate a full serving of food. Now, she might actually start gaining some much needed weight."

As one, everybody turned to look at Ari and, sure enough, she was grabbing a small second helping. Ari felt everybody staring at her and looked around. She noticed all of the grins on everybody's faces.

"What?"

The Headmaster seemed to snap out of it first. "Nothing my dear child, we are all just extremely happy to see that you are finally able to eat a full serving without getting sick."

Ari looked down at her plate and then realized what she had done. She broke out into a smile as well. Once everybody was done eating, the professors ushered the students over to the largest of the twelve trees. Under it, were 11 piles of presents. The other students instantly found their piles and began to open their presents.

Ari, however, turned towards Professor Snape with wide eyes. He knew why she was shocked; she actually had presents. He walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Our relatives have decided to indulge in spoiling their new found relation. I believe that it was only the actions of Hecate that kept them this much under control. Though, she herself has sent you a gift. I recommend you call them later to thank them."

Ari nodded and began to open the large pile of presents. She received armour (Hephaestus), a copy of _Gods, Goddesses, Kings and Heroes: A History of Those That Created, Ruled and Protected the Ancient Land, Greece_ (Hestia), a box of very fashionable clothes (Aphrodite), a dagger holder adjustable for either her calf or thigh (Ares), a cellphone that ran on magic (Hermes), a bow and arrows (Apollo and Artemis), a book on Greek magic (Hecate), a bottomless bag (Hera), a letter from the Camp Half-blood stating that they were excited for her to arrive (Chiron), a bottle of butterbeer (Dionysus), a cookbook full of healthy foods (Demeter), written permission to fly (Zeus), a book on the history of the creatures and monsters of myth and legend (Hades), a seahorse charm (Triton), a golden bracelet shaped like the face of an owl (Athena) and, finally, a black ring with blue stones (Poseidon). These were the gifts that were just from her family.

Severus went wide eyed at some of the gifts. The students had turned to see what Ari Potter was getting and were mystified at all of the _weapons_. The professors that knew of Ari's true family’s identity nodded in understanding. They had met and talked with the gods in the hospital wing after the Quidditch game.

"Who are those from, Ari?" Ron asked as he walked over wearing a maroon sweater with an R on it.

"I don't know," Ari answered. She looked to Professor Snape trying to find an explanation. Luckily, he had one.

"It is highly possible that now that you are in the magical world, Miss Potter, some of your relatives from your father's side of the family have decided to contact you."

All the students nodded. It seemed logical to them. Ari decided that she would open the letters from the gods later. She instead turned towards the gifts from her friends.

As she was about to open Hermione's gift, she heard a simultaneous yell on both sides of her. She turned to look at both Draco and Ron and saw that they had opened her gifts.

"What is _this_?!" Draco yelled waving around a copy of _Green Eggs and Ham_ by Dr. Seuss.

The muggle-borns and muggle raised in the room started laughing at the title. It became even funnier when Ron started to stare in terror at his new copy of _One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish_. Ari couldn't stop herself from laughing as she stood up.

"Do you two remember the minor, insignificant comment that I made on the train?"

"No," was the simultaneous answer.

Ari nodded as though having expected that.

"Let me refresh your memory. You two were arguing and I believe it went:

_'Well what do you think Weasel?'_

_'It might work Ferret.'_

_'Twit.'_

_'Git.'_

_'Prat.'_

_'Brat.'_

In the end, I piped up 'alright, Dr. Seuss' and you two didn't know who I was talking about. I told you at the time that it was a muggle children's book author. Well, now you two can read something by him and consider this payback for ignoring me in favor of arguing with each other."

At the end of the explanation everybody was laughing including the teachers. Ari had pulled one over on both boys. Ari then went back to her pile of presents.

Ari nodded and began to open up the rest of her presents. She received a box of chocolate frogs (Hermione), a Ravenclaw blue Weasley sweater with a silver A on it and a large box of homemade fudge, a box of Bertie Botts every flavor Jelly Beans (Ron), a quill kit (Keina and Caillen), a roughly cut wooden flute (Hagrid), a broom service kit (Draco), a book of fairy tales (Faye), and a photo album (Severus).

Ari turned and looked at Professor Snape for an explanation.

"I was friends with your mother when we were in school. I figured that you might appreciate knowing at least something about her. Those are some pictures that I was able to track down of her and her friends throughout Hogwarts."

Ari nodded her thanks but was unable to say anything for fear that she might start crying. James and Lily might not be her birth parents, but they had still decided to raise her as their own and she was grateful to them for that.

After everybody had finished opening up their presents, some house elves were summoned to help move all of the new gifts up to the Common rooms. Rigby had to get the help of two other elves to move all of Ari's in a timely fashion.

Ari made her way up to the common room. She decided that since she was the only person up here, she would read the letters near the fire. Apparently, the elves had anticipated this and had left the gifts from her family there as well.

The letters explained exactly what the charm, bracelet and ring were. The charm was supposed to act as a guide for Ari should she ever need help in their father's realm, the bracelet turned into a shield, the bow and arrows shrunk down to a charm like the seahorse and the ring doubled as a sword.

_"Your robes are loose enough that you can wear your bracelet under them and you can wear your ring or your dagger. I would recommend sticking to the dagger until you know how to properly use the sword. The bow and arrows in charm form and the seahorse charm should also be added to your necklace,"_ was a bit of advice that was written in her mother's letter.

Apparently, the gods had worked together on getting her a gift each. They had then each wrote her a quick letter explaining the gift and wishing her a happy Christmas. The longest letters were those of her mother, father, and brother. Her brother had already told her to add the new charms to her necklace.

Ari put the two new charms on to her necklace and put on her bracelet and ring. This would be the easiest way to transport them. She then began to make her way down to the dungeons. Ari didn't yet have any drachmas. Ari approached the door and knocked.

"Enter."

Ari entered and Professor Snape looked up.

"Yes, Ari. Did the letters explain everything?"

Ari nodded. "Yeah."

"So what was it that the letter said about the charm from your brother?"

"It's some sort of sea guide. I don't really understand it. It just says to make sure that it is always attached to my necklace unless I need it. The bow and arrows also shrunk down to fit on my necklace."

Severus nodded that is what he had thought.

"Follow me," he stated and they made their way out of the dungeons and out to the lake.

Once there, Severus began to instruct Ari.

"Take off the charm, not the necklace, and place it in the water."

Ari looked at him like he was nuts.

"You want me to let the charm sink to the bottom of the lake."

"It won't sink. Just do it."

Ari took off the sea green charm and placed it in the water. The second the charm touched the water, it changed into a giant sea horse. Ari stared in shock at the creature before her. She slowly began to walk into the water and up to the creature.

It swam up to her and began to nuzzle her. Ari turned her attention back to Severus while continuing to pet the soft creature.

"What is it?"

"It is as the letter stated; a sea guide. It will assist you when you are in your father's realm. Such as if you don't know your way or just don't want to swim."

"How do I turn him back?"

"Stroke the jewel in the center of the head piece."

Ari did as told and indeed it did turn back into a charm. She took a closer look at the charm. She noticed now that the jewels in the charm turned into the saddle, head piece and reins when the seahorse was full sized.

Ari stepped out of the water and took a closer look at the lake. It was angry and not somewhere that people wanted to swim in right now. She took a look at the sky, it looked as though a storm was coming on.

"The weather has been bad for the past four days now. What is going on?" Ari muttered, but Severus heard her.

"Do you realize, Miss Potter, the significance of December 21st?"

Ari thought for a moment before answering, "It is the winter solstice. The day that the Olympians hold their council."

"Yes, well, on that day something was stolen."

Ari's eyes widened, "What?"

"Lord Zeus' master bolt was stolen. He, of course, blames Lord Poseidon."

"Oh, sweet Merlin! Are you kidding me? Is that the reason for the crazy weather lately? Who on this planet is stupid enough to piss off the gods, I mean besides Hecate?"

"Nobody knows. Your mother, along with Artemis, Apollo, Hermes and Ares were dispatched to try and find it; however, none have succeeded. If it is not found soon, we will find ourselves at war."

Ari nodded, "Should I hold off on saying thank you? Or will they even be in?"

"No, it is always a good idea to thank the gods for a gift."

With that stated, Severus cast a spell on the lake and created a rainbow.

"O goddess, accept our offering."

He threw the drachma into the rainbow, and it disappeared in a golden shimmer.

"Olympian Council, Mt. Olympus."

Within seconds the image changed to that of the Olympian throne room and they were greeted with shouts of argument.

"RETURN MY BOLT!"

"I DIDN'T STEAL YOUR STUPID GIANT ELECTRIC TEDDY BEAR!"

"DON'T YOU DARE! I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE IT!"

"I DO NOT!"

"Brothers, I don't believe that this arguing is solving anything."

"I KNOW THAT YOU TOOK IT!"

Ari stared wide eyed at the argument going on between the two ten foot giants and the other nine trying to stop it. Dionysus was absent. Severus was severely tempted to pull Ari back and end the call. However, before he could put action to his thought, Artemis spotted the message.

"Father, Uncle I believe that the argument needs to be put on hold for now, we have company."

The two turned sharply towards her, about to start yelling at her. However, they followed to where she pointed and spotted Ari and Severus.

Severus and Ari bowed quickly once they realized that they had the attention of the eleven immortals.

"Rise children. Merry Christmas," Zeus addressed the two with a slightly strained smile.

Ari smiled as she rose. "Merry Christmas to you too."

"What is the reason for your call, child?" Athena questioned. Silently, she and the others were grateful for the timing. The argument was stopped for now.

"I just to call and say thank you for the gifts that I received," Ari responded blushing.

Some of the gods smiled at the innocence of the child.

"You are welcome, Ari. Now, from what I understand, Dionysus should be arriving at your school tomorrow to talk to the Headmaster. Be prepared to be called down," Hestia responded.

Ari and Severus nodded. Severus had been expecting them for a while now. Deciding that it was time to end the call, Poseidon stepped forward.

"I believe that it is time that you go inside. From the looks of it, you are outside without a coat, in the middle winter. However, Ari, remember that no matter how your mother and I might act, we do care."

Ari didn't quite understand what he meant, but she nodded. With final goodbyes, Severus ended the call. He escorted Ari back up to Ravenclaw Tower and informed her that Rigby would be by with some hot chocolate and a pepper up potion.

Ari spent the rest of the evening reading ahead in some of her textbooks and looking at the book that Hestia had given to her. She made sure to return the library's copy where it belonged. When Ari went down to her bed, she found Hedwig with a parcel.

_"Merry Christmas, M'lady."_

"Happy Christmas, Hedwig."

_"I went to deliver your letter to the Dursley's; however, they were not present. The house is now inhabited by another family."_

Ari was shocked by this news, "They left me?"

_"I cannot say, M'lady. However, you do have one more package. Merlin was asked to deliver it but I said that I would handle it."_

Ari took the package from Hedwig and opened the letter. It read, in an thin, swirling script:

**Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you.**

**Use it well.**

Ari opened the package and pulled out a rather strange cloak. She walked over in front of the mirror to see how it looked and was surprised to see that her body was gone.

_"That's an invisibility cloak, M'lady. You have a sister that has a hat that does the same thing."_

Ari could tell that Hedwig was excited. However, she caught on to the reference about her sister.

"I have a sister?"

_"Oh yes, M'lady. Many of them. And brothers too for that matter. Of course, they are all on your mother's side."_

"What about my father?"

Here Hedwig began to look uncomfortable.

"What am I not being told, Hedwig?"

Hedwig sighed, _"It is a long story, M'lady. That goes all the way back to what you humans call World War II. While the war was fought between the Allies and the Axis powers. It was also being fought between the children of Zeus and Poseidon and the children of Hades. The war was won by the children of the sea and sky and a pact was made. The three sons of the Titan king agreed that they would sire no more demigod children."_

"And they stuck to that?" Ari asked in disbelief.

Hedwig chuckled, _"For many decades, yes, they succeeded in keeping their oath. However, about 17 years ago, Zeus finally broke the oath and had a demigod daughter named Thalia. Thalia was found with two other demigods by a satyr, and they began to make their way towards camp. Along the way, they were attack by the foulest creatures that the king of the underworld could send. They made it all the way to the hill just outside camp when they were finally caught. Thalia made her final stand holding off the monsters so that her friends could make it to safety. As she died, Lord Zeus took pity on his daughter and turned her into a tree. That tree now powers the protections around Camp Half-blood."_

Ari was in shock. All of this, because Zeus decided to break the oath.

"What about my father and Uncle Hades?"

_"As far as anybody knows, Lord Hades has no living demigod children. His only descendant is your professor. Almost all of his children and mortal family died during the war. As for your father, it is not yet confirmed but there are rumors that he has also sired against the oath."_

Ari groaned. If her father has sired a demigod child, then that child's life was not going to be easy. Then again, when were any of their lives easy? She had grown up with the Dursleys, Hermione was thrown into a world completely different from that in which she grew up, Neville was raised by his grandmother and Draco was being beaten by his father.

Wait, Draco.

"Thank you for the presents Hedwig," Ari stated as she headed out of her room.

_"M'lady, where are you going?"_

Ari turned and looked at her companion. "To see Draco. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

_"You do realize that it is not yet curfew and therefore you don't need the cloak, M'lady."_

"I know. I want to see how well it works. Such as around ghosts, Peeves and pets."

With that said, Ari made her way out of the common room and began to head down to the hospital wing. While she was glad that he had been at breakfast that morning, Draco had been exhausted by the end of it and had been escorted back to the hospital wing.

The walk down was uneventful until she came across a cackling Peeves. Peeves was the school's poltergeist and a terrible prankster. It seemed as though he was in a permanent war against Filch. While most of the houses just ignored him, the Gryffindor house seemed to go out of its way to help him. Right now, Peeves was floating around re-rigging the suits of armour to sing his inappropriate Christmas carols. Just that morning, Professors McGonagall and Flitwick had spent about three hours running around the school fixing the suits. Looks like they were going to be stuck doing it again tomorrow.

Ari was passing by the library when she heard voices. Hearing that one of them was definitely Professor Snape, Ari snuck closer to see what was going on. The sight before her really didn't surprise her though it was unexpected.

Professor Snape had Professor Quirrell pressed up against the wall. Ari listened closely, drawing her dagger just in case she needed it. They hadn't yet got to actual usage of weapons, but Ari was certain that she could stab Professor Quirrell in the leg if need be.

"S-S-Severus, I-I don't know w-wh-what you are t-t-t-talking about?" Professor Quirrell stammered worse than normal.

"Don't play dumb with me Quirrell. I know for a fact it was you who tried to curse Potter's broom at the Quidditch game. It was just lucky for me that in her rush to set me on fire, Miss Granger ran into you."

"Y-Y-You ca-can't prove anything."

"Oh, but I can," Professor Snape sneered, "Now, answer my question."

Ari was starting to wonder what the hell was going on. It sounded as though Professor Snape was threatening Professor Quirrell but why?

"I-I-I don't k-know anything. L-Like y-y-you I was s-s-set to protect the s-s-stone. N-Not s-s-steal it."

"You know as well as I that you have been going around asking the others how strong their protections were and what they did under the disguise of trying to figure out your own protection. Yours was the last one placed in before Hagrid's. Therefore, Hagrid's is the only one that you don't know."

'What they heck are they talking about?'

Ari was about to continue on her way when Filch came running down the halls.

"Professors! The terrors have done it again! They are out of bed. Dungbombs were set off near the Ravenclaw Tower; however, I can't get in. And Miss Potter won't respond."

Professor Snape groaned, "Miss Potter is not restricted to Ravenclaw Tower. She very well might have been invited to Gryffindor Tower by the Weasleys."

"I already checked there. They haven't seen her since breakfast. Nobody has."

Professor Snape's eyes narrowed and Ari flinched. She really needed to get back to the tower before Severus came looking for her. The only saving grace was that the door seemed to be giving a difficult riddle this time around.

Ari began to creep her way back down the hall. She noticed a door to her right that was slightly open and decided to sneak in there. Once she entered, she noticed an archaic looking mirror. Taking a closer look, she noticed that there was an inscription along the edge of the mirror. It read:

Mirror of Erised. Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.

"I show not your face but your hearts desire," Ari muttered under her breath. She took a look in the mirror and almost stepped back. There in the mirror was not only her reflection but also the Olympians and other people. Amongst the Olympians was a satyr, a centaur, a boy her age with black hair that looked like he just got out of bed (messy and shaggy) and olive skin, a boy with black hair and bright green eyes, a girl with blonde hair and stormy grey eyes, and a girl with electric blue eyes and spiky black hair. On the other side of the mirror, were people dressed like wizards. There was a man with messy black hair and hazel eyes, a woman with red hair and bright green eyes and a man who looked as though he was carved from the same stone as the Weasley twins with his black hair and grey eyes that gleamed with mischief and merriment. The final person was a man who looked as though he had seen better days. His face was covered in scars, his green eyes looked tired but happy and his brown hair was starting to show early signs of greying.

Overall, the group looked to be happy. While she didn't know the majority of the people in the mirror, Ari knew that they were all somehow important to her. She had no idea what this meant for her. If this was supposed to be her desire, then what was it?

"Ari," a voice startled her out of her contemplations.

She whipped around to come face to face with Professor Dumbledore.

"Headmaster. Is it past curfew? I lost track of time," Ari began to ramble as she realized what this could look like.

"No, no my dear child. There is still an hour until curfew; however, you have half of the castle looking for you right now. Nobody has seen you since your impromptu lesson with Professor Snape."

Ari blanched, "I am sorry. I was going to go and check on Draco. I didn't realize that I needed to tell anybody."

As she was talking, Ari began to walk towards the door which gave the Headmaster a clear view of what was standing behind his student. Ari could have sworn he went a little pale.

"I see that you have discovered the mirror of Erised. Have you yet figured out what it does?"

"It shows your heart's desire but I can't figure out what mine is," Ari admitted.

"Well, let's talk and logic through it, shall we?"

Ari nodded.

"Describe to me what you see," the Headmaster instructed.

Ari did as she was told. As she continued, the Headmaster began to smile.

"What you have described, is both your adopted family and your birth family. If you had not already met your family, I would say that your desire was to have one."

"Thing is though that I know that I have one. I even have a cousin here so that can't be it."

"Correct, how are the people in the mirror reacting to you and to each other?"

Ari took a close look. Many of the people seemed to be hugging her or talking animatedly to each other. Overall, she really couldn't see a divide between the Greeks and the wizards. She said as much to the Headmaster.

"Then I believe that it is safe to say that your desire is to be accepted and for the two halves of your life to somehow get along. It is well known, as I believe Professor Snape has told you, Lady Magic has forbidden _any_ interaction between the Greeks and us. It seems that your desire is to get rid of the barrier."

Ari nodded that sounded like something that she would desire.

"Now, I believe it is time for you to head up to Ravenclaw Tower. Last I saw, the staff and students were trying to riddle out the question to get inside."

Ari chuckled wondering what the door had asked that had the teachers unable to answer. Ari neared the top of the tower with Professor Dumbledore to find absolute pandemonium. Standing around the door was Filch, Percy, and Professors McGonagall and Flitwick. Ari was very close to breaking down in laughter.

"Repeat the riddle again!" Filch ordered to the door.

_"What English word retains the same pronunciation, even after you take away four of its five letters?"_

"Ok, let's think," Professor Flitwick stated.

"Miss Potter had better be here. Honestly, half the school is searching the castle and grounds looking for her and the other half is standing here befuddled by a riddle-filled door," Professor McGonagall professed.

Ari decided it was time to walk forward and put the teachers and Percy out of their misery. She squeezed her way past the teachers until she was in front of the door. They were all still too busy arguing with one another to notice that their target was amongst them.

"Queue," Ari stated clearly.

"Correct."

The door swung open and Ari walked into the common room shutting the door behind her to the ringing laughter of the Headmaster.


	13. Chapter 12

**Ok, I am going to try my hand at this to see what I can do for future chapters:**

**Ten of you have answered my call,**

**But now I beseech you one and all.**

**An answer to my question is my plea;**

**Please, just tell me how many stories this should be.**

**There is a poll on my profile or for those that are guests you can just leave your preference in a review.**

**Chapter 12**

While Ari was preparing for bed, Professors Flitwick and McGonagall, Filch, and Percy finally seemed to realize that they had a near hyperventilation Headmaster in their presence. Professor McGonagall hurried over to the Headmaster to get him to calm down.

“Honestly, Albus. Miss Potter is missing, and you are laughing yourself into suffocation. What could honestly be so funny?” Professor McGonagall snapped.

“My dear Minerva, I believe that once you get inside you will find that there is no need to search for Miss Potter anymore.”

Professor McGonagall gave an exasperated sigh, “Yes, we realize that. That is why we have been trying to get past this thrice damned door.”

The Headmaster nodded and turned to the door, “A riddle please.”

_“What can you hear but not see, and only speaks when spoken too?”_

The four that had been trying to answer the riddle stared at the door in utter disbelief.

“That is a different riddle!” Percy exclaimed pointing out the obvious.

“You are correct Mr. Weasley. Albus we might wish to check the door, the riddle isn’t supposed to change until-” understanding suddenly dawned on Professor McGonagall’s face. “Somebody already answered the riddle.”

The Headmaster couldn’t resist and once more was doubled over in laughter.

“Who answered the riddle?” Professor Flitwick questioned. “This means that somebody was amongst us while we were arguing.

“Miss Potter answered the riddle. Now, if you don’t mind either answer my riddle or leave my presence. My charge is trying to sleep.”

Everybody turned to stare at the door in shock. It never spoke anything except riddles. Professor Dumbledore finally managed to get control of himself again and walked forward.

“An echo.”

“Correct, Headmaster.”

The door swung open once more, and the group quickly made their way inside as though they believed that the door might change its mind.

“Which floor are the first year girls on, Filius?”

“The first one, Minerva.”

With  quick nod, Professor McGonagall made her way down to the dormitories and into the the floor that held the first year girls. Once there, she slowly opened the door to Ari’s room and peered inside. Ari was on her bed sound asleep looking completely at peace with the world.

With a small smile upon her face, Professor McGonagall closed the door with a small click and made her way back up to the common room.

“Miss Potter is present and asleep. I believe that we can recall the search parties. Filch go and fetch Hagrid from the forest. I will go and inform Severus.”

Everybody nodded. They were just happy that the student was ok.

“Minerva, Severus is still in the hospital wing with Mr. Malfoy.”

Professor McGonagall nodded, “How is Mr. Malfoy?”

“Madame Pomfrey assures me that he will make a complete recovery; however, I cannot, in good conscience, allow him to return home. He will most likely remain at Hogwarts this summer.”

Professor McGonagall nodded and left. She made her way down to the Hospital Wing, informing search parties as she went that Miss Potter had been found. She entered the silent wing and made her way over to the only occupied bed. Placing her hand on her colleague’s shoulder, she drew him out of whatever morbid thoughts were going around in his mind.

“Severus, Miss Potter has been located.”

Professor Snape nodded; he had suspected as much, “We would all do well to remember that Miss Potter is neither James nor the Marauders reincarnated. She isn’t going to blow up the school. That _honorable_ task seems to be the life long ambition of the Weasley Twins.”

Professor McGonagall snorted, she had no idea how it happened, but Severus’ attitude had done a 180 about a month before school started. Before Severus had been sent to fetch Miss Potter, he had been adamant that she was going to be just as spoiled and arrogant as her father. After his trip however, he no longer voiced such opinions and was now going as far as to give Miss Potter extra lessons.

Both professors fell into a comfortable silence as they listened to the sounds of the night, each lost in their own thoughts. It wasn’t until Draco began to stir that they pulled out of their thoughts.

Draco gave a groan as he tried to pull his way into consciousness. He had been sent back to the Hospital Wing after opening presents. Madame Pomfrey didn’t want him to over do it. He had been given a check over and then left to rest.

Professor Snape noticed that Draco was coming out of consciousness.

“Minerva, fetch Poppy, I believe that Mr. Malfoy has decided to rejoin us.”

Madame Pomfrey nodded and rushed out of the room to fetch the mediwitch. A few seconds later, Draco opened his eyes with a groan.

“Easy Mr. Malfoy, we wouldn’t want you to have to spend even longer in here then you already have,” Professor Snape warned while he assisted Draco in sitting up and drinking some water.

“Alright, alright, leave me to my patient! Everybody out!” Madame Pomfrey ordered as she rushed over to her only patient.

Both professors knew how Madame Pomfrey was when she had a patient; so, they left with nothing more than a glare (Professor Snape) and a scoff (Professor McGonagall). They continued to walk together in silence until they came to the staircase.

“Well, happy Christmas, Severus.”

“Night, Minerva.”

Pleasantries exchanged, they both continued on their way to their individual quarters. It would be a few more days before Draco was released from the hospital and the tender care of the overbearing mediwitch.

**oOo**

The next morning at breakfast, the teachers kept an eye on both Ari and the still extremely exhausted Draco. Draco had insisted upon getting out of the Hospital Wing because he was bored and going stir crazy. What had finally convinced Madame Pomfrey to release him, however, was her walking in on him plotting pranks with the Weasley twins.

Now, at breakfast, everybody was keeping an eye on two of the students who seemed to always be in trouble.

Ari groaned as she realized that she was not imagining the staring.

“Great.”

“What?” Draco asked as he grabbed some more food.

“The teachers aren’t going to let us out of their sights because of you being sick and me pulling a disappearing act yesterday.”

Draco nearly choked on his food as he quickly turned to stare at his friend.

“YOU DID WHAT!?”

“I kind of vanished for a few hours. Nothing major and nobody would have noticed if it wasn’t for the fact that Fred and George had decided to set off dung bombs right outside Ravenclaw Tower. Filch blamed me.”

At the staff table, Professor Snape was reading Ari’s lips and was internally groaning. He was going to have to talk with his student about always letting somebody know where she was. It was a safety precaution.

Speaking of safety precautions, he needed to inform the headmaster of Lord D’s impending arrival today.

“Headmaster-”

The Headmaster turned towards his potions master, “Yes, Severus.”

“A guest will be arriving today in relation to Miss Potter and her placement this summer.”

The Headmaster’s eyes widened slightly, “Am I to guess that it is one of our guests from the Quidditch match?”

Professor Snape only nodded, and that was all the Headmaster needed.

“Meet me in my office after breakfast.”

Severus nodded again and went back to eating.

It was only a few minutes later when a frantic house elf appeared behind the Headmaster and began to whisper frantically.

“Yes, alright Mipsy I got it, thank you,” the Headmaster responded before standing up. “I need for Professors McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, Flitwick, Madame Pomfrey and Miss Potter to please follow me to my office.”

The 10 students turned to look at the only student that had been called, Ari.

“Ari do you know what is going on?”

Ari shook her head, “No, Draco. I don’t.”

“You better go, Potter,” a third year Hufflepuff stated pointing to the leaving Professors.

Ari quickly gathered her belongings and followed the Professors. She didn’t know where the Headmaster’s office was so she was quick to catch up.

Professor Snape noticed her hurrying to catch up and slowed down so that the student didn’t get lost.

“What have you done this time, Miss Potter?”

Ari glared at her professor, “As far as I know, _I_ have done nothing. When is Lord D supposed to arrive?”

The last question caused Professor Snape to pause.

“Today.”

“Then is it possible that he has just arrived earlier than expected?”

“Come on you two,” Professor McGonagall snapped from in front of a gargoyle.

Ari approached the rest of the teachers and looked around. She didn’t see a painting that looked as though it would be protecting an office. However, the gargoyle looked like it could be a guardian like the Ravenclaw door.

“Twizzlers.”

Ari snapped out of her thoughts in time to see the gargoyle begin to move.

“I trust that you will keep my password a secret, Miss Potter.”

Ari looked up at the smiling headmaster and nodded. After all, it wasn’t her business what the password was. She wasn’t planning on making trips here a daily occurrence.

“Well then, let’s go see our guest.”

Professor Dumbledore led the group up to the top of the winding stairwell and through the door at the top. Already inside the magnificent office were two people. Only one of them was not human and one of them was a god.

Ari was too busy looking around the office to actually pay attention to the people that were in it. It was a large and beautiful circular room, full of funny little noises. A number of curious silver instruments stood on spindle-legged tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. Ari had a strong urge to ask the Headmaster what they were for, but she refrained. The walls were covered with portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses, all of whom were wide awake and eagerly asking what was going on. There was also an enormous, claw-footed desk, and, sitting on a shelf behind it, a shabby, tainted wizard's hat -- _the Sorting Hat_. The hat sat on top of a bookshelf full of ancient tombs that looked as though they would fall apart at the most minute of touches.

Ari was drawn out of her wanderings by somebody clearing their throat. Looking at the adults in the room, Ari noticed that the majority of them had a form of amusement in their eyes. Professor Snape’s was the hardest to see, but it was there.

“Now that Miss Potter has joined us, shall we begin?” Professor McGonagall inquired.

“Yes, well all of you will remember me from the game that I attended with my family. However, for a refresher, I am Dionysus, a ‘cousin’ of Ari’s for lack of a better term.”

The other man next to Dionysus stepped forward. He was a centaur.

“My name is Chiron. I am a trainer at the camp that-”

“Camp? What camp?” Madame Pomfrey interrupted. She remembered the group from the Hospital Wing; however, she had not been informed about a camp.

“You are all aware, as of the game, that Ari found her birth family?”

The teachers all nodded.

“You are all aware of who this family truly is?”

Here half the occupants nodded and half looked confused about the question. Professor Flitwick however quickly went from shaking to nodding as he recognized the name.

“You are the Greek gods.”

Chiron nodded, “Yes, an exception has been made for you four to know about us so that you can help Ari. Two of you already knew about us. The rest of you were only told that her family was found and that they collected weapons. How are you doing, Severus?”

Professor inclined his head to his former trainer, “I am doing about as well as can been expected under the circumstances, Chiron.”

“Excuse me, not meaning to be rude, but what was this you said about a camp and why are you here?” Professor Sprout questioned.

“As I already stated, I am Chiron, a trainer at the camp that Ari’s family wishes for her to attend.”

“Are you _the_ Chiron?” Ari questioned.

“Yes, child. As far as I know, I am the only Chiron,” Chiron replied with a smile. “Now, your parents wish for you to attend camp a minimum of the summer so that you can be trained.”

“Trained in what?” Madame Pomfrey inquired.

“Archery, swords, daggers, hand-to-hand, rock climbing, Greek language, basic medical skills, arts and crafts, etc. Basically, everything that a demi-god needs to survive,” Professor Snape responded.

“And, why, _Severus_ , would Miss Potter need to learn that?”

“Because if she doesn’t, she will wind up in your Hospital Wing, most likely dead. Somebody with her parentage will not escape without being attacked at least once on a yearly basis.”

Madame Pomfrey paled. She had grown fond of Miss Potter from the two times that she had thus far spent in her Hospital Wing. The child was polite and quiet; even if she didn’t like to be locked up.

“I think we are all in agreement that Miss Potter needs training. She can’t use magic during the summers due to the laws, and this will give her a way to defend herself.”

Chiron nodded, they were thinking logically about the situation. The gods had feared that these teachers would be harder to convince. That is why he had been called in to accompany Mr. D.

“What day does school end for Ari?”

“The students are sent home on June 5th,” Professor McGonagall answered.

“Then we will expect her that evening in time for dinner. Severus, I trust you remember the location to set the portkey to?”

Severus nodded. He remembered very well where the camp was located.

“Then, I believe that we are done here. By the way, Severus, I was told to inform you not to bother going after the Dursleys. You won’t find them.”

“Why is that? I tried to send them a letter; however, Hedwig said that another family was living there,” Ari spoke up. She had been curious about this.

“Your parents, uncles, and brother had a little ‘chat’ with them,” here Dionysus turned towards the teachers in the room. “Either find her another place to live or she will be staying at camp year round. Poseidon and Athena will not stand for a repeat of this. To be honest, none of us will.”

The teachers nodded.

With that, the god and immortal teacher left the office.

“Well, now that that is settled, we have one more issue to solve.”

“Albus, what is going on? At the Quidditch match, they introduced themselves as Ari’s family, but who are they?” Professor Sprout questioned.

“They are Miss Potter’s birth family. Lord Poseidon and Lady Athena are her parents and you can figure out the rest of the relations from there.”

Professor Flitwick paled and turned to look at his raven.

“You mean that Ari is a-”

“Yes professor, however let’s just go with over powerful demi-god for now please.”

The adults nodded. While still not exactly a safe label, it was definitely less dangerous than somebody finding out that she was a mortal goddess.

“Where will Miss Potter be staying during the summer?” Madame Pomfrey inquired.

“She needs to stay with a blood relative and as luck would have it, we have one here in the school.”

Here the teachers all turned towards Severus, who just rolled his eyes.

“Yes, Miss Potter, will be staying at Hogwarts while she in not at camp. Both her and Mr. Malfoy will be staying in their dormitories. I believe that Filius can explain how blood wards work.”

The charms professor nodded, “Blood wards go around the home of the blood relation of the person that needs the protection. In this case, Miss Potter needs the protection, Severus is her relation and the home is- HOGWARTS!”

All the eyes widened while the Headmaster smiled and nodded.

“Yes, the blood wards will be added to the wards of Hogwarts. This means that Miss Potter will literally be under them all year while in school, minus the months at camp, and therefore if she wishes could spend part of the summer with her friends. Severus, I believe that this fulfills your wish of not being stuck with her more than three weeks. She does have to be here around her birthday; however, after that, I see no reason why she can’t go see her friends.”

A huge smile broke out on Ari’s face. She wasn’t going back to the Dursleys and because of the wards she would be safe and didn’t have to stay here all summer. During the first lesson after her mini hurricane in Professor Snape’s chambers, Professor Snape had explained to her that she was placed with the Dursleys for protection against the remaining followers of Voldemort. However, they were working on trying to find a way around that. It looked now as though they had succeeded.

With everything set for the coming summer, Ari was sent back to her dormitories and the teachers continued to talk about plans for the upcoming term.

**oOo**

The students returned from break eager to see their friends and swap stories about what they did over the month long break. Ari and her friends were no exception to the rule. If Ari had a bigger smile on her face than when they had left, her friends honestly didn’t care. They were happy to see her happy.

“Thank you so much for the book Ari.”

“No problem, Hermione. Thank you for the chocolate frogs.”

The group continued to thank each other for the gifts that they had received. Hermione and Faye got a good laugh out of the Dr. Seuss books that Ron and Draco had received. After dinner, all the students were sent to the their dorms to get ready for classes that resumed the next day.

The next morning, the group gathered at the Gryffindor table and continued talking about their breaks. Ari was enjoying just listening to her friends talk about all the gifts they got until Hermione pulled her out of her thoughts.

“Ari where did you get that bracelet; it’s beautiful,” Hermione asked motioning to the bracelet that Ari had taken to wearing everywhere.

“Oh, it was a gift.”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “Obviously, but from whom?”

Ari didn’t want to answer, and it was quite obvious to everyone whose attention had been drawn into the conversation. Neville noticed Ari’s discomfort and decided to change the topic.

“So, Draco, why weren’t you on the train yesterday?”

Draco paled. That was _not_ what he wanted to talk about.

“Ummm….I…”

“He returned early, because there was a change in plans,” Ari interjected effectively ending that conversation. “I did however discover something over the break.”

She had now gained everybody’s attention. Not even Draco knew about this, because Ari had not wanted to repeat herself multiple times.

“I received a mystery gift; an invisibility cloak.”

“You received a WHAT?!” Draco and Ron yelled.

“Ari do you know how rare that is?”

“An invisibility cloak, and I think I have a relative idea. Apparently the cloak belonged to my father.”

Everybody clammed up. They knew that this was going to be a touchy subject.

“Anyways, I decided to go down to the….well I decided to test it out by going and visiting Draco. However, before I could make it down to him, I ran into Professors Snape and Quirrell.”

“So Snape is trying to get Quirrell to work for him now?” Ron accused.

“No! More like he was trying to prevent Quirrell from causing any more issues,” Ari corrected. “Anyways, they were talking about protections, and Hagrid’s being the last one put into place. I am guessing that that would be the Cerberus.”

“Did they mention what the Cerberus was protecting?” Caillen questioned immediately interested in trying to solve a mystery.

“A stone of some sort,” Ari whispered while looking pointedly over at Ron’s older brothers who seemed to be trying to listen in.

“Ari, that can be any number of magical stones. Just a few are the Baetylus, the Cintamani, the Philosopher’s stone, the Sessho-seki, the Stone of Giramphiel, the Singasteinn, the Llech, the Ronw, the Adder Stone, the Lyngurium,  the Resurrection Stone, the Toadstone, the Stone of Scone, the Sledovik, the Lia Fáil, the Thunderstone, and the Gjőll. While all of them are said to be powerful in their own sense, there is no way to know which one it is.” Keina reasoned.

Ari nodded that seemed to be about right. The others were just staring wide eyed at the Ravenclaws.

“Only a Ravenclaw would know something as trivial as that,” the Weasley Twins piped up together.

Ari and Keina did the mature thing and stuck their tongues out at the twins.

“So, what are we going to do?” Ron questioned.

Hermione rolled her eyes, “Weren’t you paying attention, Ronald? We don’t do anything. There is no way to know exactly what is being protected, what is protecting it, or even why it is being protected. The teachers have it under control. We leave it alone.”

The group nodded. It was obvious that the teachers had it all under control. There was no point in trying to get themselves killed solving a mystery that wasn’t theirs to solve.

While the teachers attempted to jump right back into learning, the students were not as equally enthusiastic (as is normal in pretty much every school). Ari found it was exceptionally difficult to focus in when Defense came around on Tuesday.

Ari was rubbing her head when a piece of paper slid in front of her on her desk.

_‘Are you ok, Ari?’_

‘No, my head is killing me.’

_‘You want to stop by the Hospital Wing after class?’_

‘Yeah, I guess I better. If I don’t, somebody will find out, and I will be in more trouble than I would have been if I had just gone on my own.

“Mi-Miss P-Potter. P-P-Please answer the question.”

Ari looked up at the sound of her professor standing right in front of her. The second that she met Professor Quirrell’s eyes, her head started to pound again.

“I’m sorry Professor, my head is hurting. Could you repeat the question?”

“Y-Yes. O-Of course. What is the incantation for Red Sparks?”

“Periculum, Professor,”

“C-Correct. F-Five points to Ravenclaw.”

Ari nodded and put her head back down on the table, and kept it there for the rest of the lesson. As soon as class was over, Draco grabbed Ari by her arm and all but dragged her to the Hospital Wing.

“Madame Pomfrey! Madame Pomfrey!”

“What do you think you are doing yelling, Mr. Mal-” the Mediwitch began to reprimand the young Slytherin before she caught sight of Ari. “Up here on the bed, Miss Potter.”

Ari, being too tired to argue just did as she was asked. Madame Pomfrey set up some curtains and told Ari to change. Once Ari was done changing, Madame Pomfrey came inside the curtains and began to check over her frequent patient.

“Well, what is bothering you today, Miss Potter?”

“My head was hurting during Defense. But honestly, I am fine.”

“I will be the judge of that.”

Madame Pomfrey continued to run scans and cast spells; making sure to run those that would judge her magic. Her magic was still strong even without a core.

“It looks as though you just have a migraine. Do you have anymore classes today?”

“No ma’am. I don’t have to take flying anymore. But, I have Quidditch practice tonight.”

Madame Pomfrey rolled her eyes, “Unless I see improvement, Miss Potter, you will be missing practice until further notice. Stay here for a few hours, and if you feel better, you can return to your dormitory for the night.”

“But, Mada-”

“No, buts Miss Potter. Your health comes first. Now, rest.”

With that, she handed Ari a headache potion and left the curtained off area.

“Mr. Malfoy, please inform a teacher that Miss Potter will not be at dinner tonight.”

Draco looked towards the curtained off area with great worry showing in his eyes.

“Is she going to be alright?”

Madame Pomfrey smiled, “She will be fine. She has probably been spreading herself too thin with all of the extra lessons, regular lessons, and Quidditch practices that she has been trying to balance. Now, go on I believe that you have class before dinner.”

Draco’s eyes widened as he realized that he had only ten minutes to get outside to the field for flying lessons. He ran out of the Hospital Wing without a goodbye.

At dinner, the entire group was worried. Draco had told them quietly what had occurred during Defense and that Ari was stuck in the Hospital Wing until later tonight. Draco looked up at the teachers’ table and noticed that both Professor Snape and Professor Flitwick were present.

“Guys, I’ll be right back. Madame Pomfrey wanted me to explain to the teachers where Ari is.”

The group nodded, and Draco headed up to the head table. Though the walk was a short one, he could feel all eyes turning on him as the students noticed where he was heading. His head of house raised his eyebrow upon his approach.

“What do you need, Mr. Malfoy?” Professor Snape questioned his student.

Draco looked at Professor Flitwick and directed the answer towards the head of Ravenclaw.

“Madame Pomfrey wanted me to inform you that Ari is staying in the Hospital Wing until at least after dinner and that she isn’t going to be attending Quidditch practice tonight.”

The professors’ eyes widened. This was not good. What had happened this time? The teachers looked out at the students and noticed that every single one was listening in on the conversation. It was, however, too late to do anything about it.

“What happened?” Professor Flitwick asked.

Draco, realizing what the teachers did, kept his answer short, “She was feeling sick after Defense. So, I took her to Madame Pomfrey.”

“Alright, go eat,” Professor Snape dismissed his student.

Draco nodded and headed back to his friends. As he sat down, he noticed that the heads of houses and the Ravenclaw Quidditch team all left the Great Hall. He gave a great sigh as he began to fill his plate.

“Draco, is Ari really ok?” Hermione questioned concern showing clearly upon her face.

“Yeah, Mione. Madame Pomfrey thinks she is just trying to take on too much and is exhausted.”

“I warned her about that,” Keina put in with Caillen nodding.

“I think we all did,” Neville admitted.

“Why does she take those extra lessons so often? She seems to have got enough control that she doesn’t need to go

“I don’t know, and she won’t talk about them,” Draco responded sadly.

That was true. Ever since she had begun her extra lessons, the group had been trying to get Ari to open up to them about what was going on in them. However, she remained tight lipped about the whole thing. She refused to let them help her practice with her powers, and she refused to back off on any of her practices, Quidditch or elemental.

Therefore, they did all that they could in helping her with her school work. Ari was still considered among the top students in the first years. And that was exceptionally true when one took into account all of her extracurriculars.

The group finished eating and then made their way to the Hospital Wing.

**oOo**

Once Draco had gone back to his seat, the teachers gave each other a look and as one left the Great Hall and headed towards the Hospital Wing.

“Why does it always seem to be that Miss Potter is always in trouble or injured?” Professor Flitwick complained as the group quickly made their way down the abandoned hallways.

“It does seem like she seems to be a trouble magnet,” the Headmaster admitted.

“That will only continue as she gets older because monsters from both the magical and godly world will track her down to test her and harm her,” Professor Snape put in. He really hated to be the bearer of bad news.

“You aren’t helping matters, Severus,” Professor McGonagall admonished.

“It needs to be said, Minerva. This is the reason why the gods decided to go ahead and let you in on the knowledge of who they are and what Ari is.”

“Well, I say we see how Miss Potter is feeling and if she knows the reason for her headaches in Defense,” Professor Dumbledore stated putting an end to the conversation as he opened the doors to the Hospital Wing.

The group made their way over to the only bed that was occupied. Madame Pomfrey had long since removed the curtains from around the bed. Ari was currently sitting up in bed eating a bowl of soup. Upon noticing the teachers approaching her bed, Ari placed the bowl on the table beside her bed and smiled up at her teachers.

“How are you feeling, Miss Potter?” the Headmaster questioned.

“I am feeling better, but Madame Pomfrey insists that I stay for a bit longer.”

The teachers nodded; that sounded exactly like the Mediwitch. Just then, said Mediwitch entered the ward.

“Have you finished your soup, Miss Potter?”

“Not yet, ma’am.”

“Well, what are you waiting for?”

“The Professors wanted to talk to me.”

“Go ahead and eat, Ari,” Professor Snape interjected.

Ari nodded, picked up her bowl and continued to eat while the teachers talked around her.

“Have you figured out what is ailing her yet, Madame Pomfrey?” Professor Flitwick inquired still extremely worried about his little raven.

“Not yet. All I know is that her head started hurting in Defense and after about half an hour here it started to feel better.”

“So is there anything to keep her here tonight?” Professor Dumbledore asked.

“No, sir. She is free to return to her dormitory after she finishes eating.”

Just then, the doors to the Hospital Wing slammed open and in stormed the Ravenclaw Quidditch team.

“Ari, what have you done this time?” Serra shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Serra, I think we should wait outside,” Alex tried to reason with his captain.

“No, I want to know how she has managed to once again place herself in the Hospital Wing. It is only the second day back!”

“Miss Stone, cease this inappropriate behavior at once,” Professor McGonagall snapped. “You are in a Hospital Wing not on a Quidditch Pitch.”

Serra blushed in embarrassment. She was just extremely worried about her seeker who always seemed to be either injured or in trouble.

“I am sorry Professors. Ari, are you feeling better?”

“Yeah, Serra. I will be fine in time for practice on Thursday.”

Serra nodded and her and the rest of the Quidditch team left to go practice. They were going to have to manage for one night without a seeker.  As they were leaving, Ari and the professors were certain that they heard Serra mention something about bludgers, ropes, quaffles, and heads.

The professors turned and looked at Ari. Professor Snape raised an eyebrow and Ari knew that an explanation was needed.

“The bludgers and Quaffles I believe are self explanatory. The mention of heads was probably about me and that I need to get mine on straight, or it was her telling the beaters where they need to aim the bludgers. I have no idea what the rope is for; however, knowing Serra, I should probably be glad that I’m missing practice tonight.”

A groan was heard coming from the direction of Professor Flitwick. Everybody looked over to see him hanging his head and muttering things along the lines of- obsessed Quidditch captains, needing to pick better, needing to get priorities straight, and sitting in on practice occasionally.

Ari chuckled; it looked as though Serra was going to dealing with overbearing professors in the future at Quidditch practices.

“I believe that it is time for Miss Potter to return to her dormitory,” the Headmaster finally spoke up once Ari had stopped chuckling and Professor Flitwick had stopped muttering.

Now, it was Madame Pomfrey’s turn to start muttering, “I would rather just keep her here on a permanent basis if she going to keep doing this to herself.”

However, despite her mutterings, Madame Pomfrey reset up the curtains and allowed Ari to change back into her school robes. Ari came back out five minutes later.

“Return to Ravenclaw Tower and try to get some homework done, Miss Potter,” Professor Flitwick instructed.

“Yes, sir,” Ari responded as she began to head towards the door.

“Miss Potter, please remember we have lessons tomorrow night.”

“Yes, sir.”

With that, Ari made her way back to her dormitory and the teachers broke up for the night. Hopefully, this term didn’t turn out as interesting as the last one.

Once he was safely back in his quarters, Professor Snape knew that he needed to let the gods know what was going on with Ari. He grabbed a drachma and created a rainbow.

“O goddess, accept my offering.”

The rainbow shimmered as he threw the drachma into the rainbow.

“Olympian Council, Mount Olympus.”

Within seconds, the image changed to show the Olympian Council hall and once more eleven arguing gods.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT YOU WON’T JUST GIVE IT BACK!”

“THERE IS NOTHING TO GIVE BACK, BECAUSE I DIDN’T TAKE ANYTHING!”

“WHO DID YOU GET TO TAKE IT?”

“NOBODY! I DON’T KNOW WHERE YOUR LIGHTNING BOLT IS, BROTHER?”

Professor Snape remained quiet as he waited to be recognized. He was just grateful that Ari was not with him; especially when the two gods came to blows.

“GIVE IT BACK!” Zeus ordered as he suddenly decided to escalate the fight. He summoned a massive bolt of lightning and sent it straight at his brother.

Poseidon was flung back into the wall on the other side of the hall. The reaction from the other gods was instantaneous. Ares, Hephaestus, and Athena went to restrain Zeus while Apollo, Hera, and Artemis went to check and tend to Poseidon. The others took up positions between the two; hoping to stop anymore blows. A few minutes later, Poseidon was back on his feet and more than a little pissed.

“I am done here, _brother_. I will return for the solstice on June 21st, and I expect an apology at that time.”

Before he could flash out; however, Poseidon caught sight of the Iris message and saw the professor that was taking care of his daughter. He gave a sigh as he headed over to the message.

“What can we do for you, Severus?”

Severus gave a quick bow before answering the question. The rest of the gods were a little embarrassed that they had not noticed the message sooner.

“The council wished for me to keep them up to date on what was occurring with Miss Potter.”

That one statement caught everybody’s attention.

“What has happened, Severus?” Athena asked walking up to stand before the message and therefore next to Poseidon.

“Nothing major, I just felt that the council would like to know that she found herself in the Hospital Wing ton-”

“WHAT!? HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?” Poseidon yelled.

Professor Snape flinched.

“Was she attacked, Severus?” Artemis inquired.

“No, my Lady. From what we can tell, she just had a headache.”

“You are not speaking the full truth. What are you not telling us?” Apollo pressured.

Poseidon glared at the professor.

“I do not like being lied to, descendant of Hades. I will ask one more time. What happened to my daughter?”

The gods all paled. Poseidon was definitely beyond pissed, and Severus had picked a really bad time to bring bad news and to withhold information.

Luckily, Severus was a smart man and realized this.

“There is a teacher at school who does not wish the children well being. I am currently doing everything that I can to prevent him from doing any harm. However, I fear that the issue will soon come to head. Unfortunately, his main target seems to be Ari.”

Now all of the gods were standing and coming closer to the message. Zeus too came closer and he and Poseidon came to a temporary truce. Ari had nothing to do with their argument and would not become harmed by it if they could prevent it.

“Anything else, Severus?” Poseidon questioned trying to keep his temper under control. This was _not_ what he needed right now.

“I once more emphasis that I know nothing for one hundred percent certain.”

The gods nodded so he deemed it safe to continue.

“I believe that the teacher in question is in some way connected to the man that killed the family that Ari was placed with by Hecate and who then tried to kill Ari.”

“HE DID WHAT!?” Poseidon and Athena both yelled.

The gods flinched and Severus paled. They hadn’t been told yet that Ari had almost been killed when she was one.

“Who is this man, Severus?” Ares asked, looking ready to go to war. He wanted a good fight.

“That is another one of the problems, many people believe this man to be dead. Killed by Ari when he attacked her when she was one.”

“And what do the rest of you believe?” Athena asked upon catching the wording that he used.

Severus sighed, “The rest of us believe that this is only a temporary halt in the war of the magical world. The rest of us believe that he will return.”

The gods looked at each other; this was _not_ good news.

“What is Ari’s condition?” Poseidon finally asked.

“She has returned to her dormitory and is feeling better.”

“Keep us up to date. We will confer with Hades to see what is going on with this man,” Zeus stated.

Severus recognized the dismissal for what it was. He bowed his head and ended the message. As he prepared for bed, he knew that nothing was going to be easy from here on out.

**oOo**

Ari spent the rest of the week being watched. Professor Snape made it very clear during her lessons that she was to spend as little time with Professor Quirrell as possible and if her head started to hurt again, she was to go straight to the Hospital Wing.

Ari’s schedule quickly picked back up after the first week of classes, and she was once more busy every night. The fifth and seventh years actually felt that they had it easy compared to little Ari Potter the first year that people expected way too much from.

Quidditch practices started to become more intense as the months of January and February came to an end. While Serra was not nearly as obsessed as the Gryffindor captain, Oliver Wood, she still insisted upon them practicing in all types of weather.

At one point during the month of February, the entire team was in the Hospital Wing with either a cold or the flu. This had the unexpected but completely unwelcome consequence of the professors putting their feet down that nobody could practice outside in weather below 30 degrees. It wasn’t healthy or safe.

The first game of the new term came with Ravenclaw vs. Slytherin on February 28th. The weather was awful and the captains were actually considering asking to postpone the game. However, a little rain never stopped a Quidditch game and the temperature was deemed safe.

As the teams walked out on to the pitch, Ari looked up into the staff/ guest stands and saw a teenage boy that looked like her father; Triton. Ari hoped to be able to talk to him after the game; if she wasn’t stuck in the Hospital Wing again.

The game began with Serra and Marcus trying to break each other’s hands as per tradition and then the action began. Due to the wind, Ari was not able to hear Jordan’s commentary, and she seriously doubted that anybody else could as well.

About a half hour into the game, the rain began. Ari was now seriously upset. Her uncle and father couldn’t have held off on their temper tantrums until _after_ the game?

Up in the stands, Triton was thinking the same thing.

‘Seriously, are you trying to kill Ari, Dad?’

He kept a very close eye on Ari, but knew that there was very little that he would be able to do if she was to fall, or gods forbid, get struck by a lightning bolt. He could only hope that the game ended quickly. Taking a quick look at the score, he noted that while Ravenclaw was ahead, the game needed to just end. It honestly didn’t matter who won.

Triton spotting the captain of his sister’s team calling for a timeout. However, it took a good ten minutes to get everybody on the ground. Ari had been flying the highest and hadn’t seen or heard the call for a timeout.

“Who called the timeout?” Ari questioned once she made it over to the team.

“I did. Ari, we need you to catch the snitch. This weather is only going to get worse.”

“Are the Slytherins playing like they did against the Gryffindors?”

“Shockingly, no,” Alex answered. “They actually seem to be playing fairly. Whether that is because of the weather or because they remember what happened your first game, I don’t know. However, they haven’t sent a bludger towards you all game.”

“Yeah, I noticed, and I am grateful for that.”

“Ari, find the snitch.”

“I am trying but for all I know the little pest is stuck in a tree somewhere because of all this wind.”

“Then check the trees and the drainage system along the edge of the pitch if you must. Just finish it.”

At that moment, Madame Hooch came over and asked if they were ready to resume. Serra told her they were and the game continued. Ari decided to take Serra’s advice and check the drainage system. As she flew that way, Terence Higgs, the Slytherin seeker, flew up along side of her.

“What do you think you are doing, Potter?” He yelled so she could hear him over the wind.

“Checking the drainage system for the stupid gold ball that you and I are supposed to be chasing. At this point, it and the trees are the only places we haven’t looked yet.”

“You do realize that right now, the drainage system is full of water, there isn’t enough room to fly down there without drowning.”

“And if we don’t look and the snitch is down there, we are going to be stuck out here all night. I am going.”

“Well, then good luck to you.”

With that, Higgs flew off to tell his captain what was going on. Flint had told his seeker basically the same thing that Serra had told Ari. Do anything to finish the game. It doesn’t matter at this point.

“Flint!”

The captain of the Slytherin team turned towards his seeker.

“What Higgs?”

“Potter has decided to check the drainage system for the snitch.”

Flint went pale and wide eyed.

“She did what!?”

Terrence rolled his eyes.

“You heard me even with this wind.”

“Keep searching. If Potter doesn’t find it down there, you can find it up here.”

Terrence nodded before flying off again to look for the snitch. Word spread to the other players on the Slytherin team of where the young Ravenclaw seeker was. All of the players were keeping one eye upon the entrances to the drainage system. They just hoped that she made it out of there.

Triton saw everything that was going on, and he noticed that Ari had gone down into the drainage system. His affinity over water told him that the system was full of water; however, Ari was doing fine. The only reason for that though was because of the abilities that their dad gave all of his children.

Ari was cold. She was cold and hungry, but shockingly she was not wet. She was flying completely underwater but her clothes didn’t feel any heavier than they did up in the air. She looked carefully in every nook and cranny trying to find the snitch. Suddenly, she spotted a flash of gold trying to hide in a crack between two bricks in the wall of the drainage system. She flew closer, reached in and pulled out the item. She looked at what was in her hand and nearly laughed out loud. She had found the snitch.

Ari quickly and carefully made her way to the exit of the drainage system. Upon exiting, she looked around and tried to find one of the captains. She didn’t find either Serra or Marcus, but she did find Terrance. Ari flew up so that she was flying right along side of him and showed him the snitch.

“You found it!”

“Yeah, it was hiding a crack in the drainage system. Stupid thing didn’t want to get wet,” Ari stated chuckling.

By now, the other players had noticed the seekers hovering in the middle of the field, talking and decided to head over.

“Ari, what are you doing? Find the snitch!” Serra ordered not seeing what was in her seeker’s hand.

Ari turned around and all the players let out a cheer. Even the Slytherins didn’t care, the game was over.

All of the players landed and Madame Hooch came running over to them.

“What is going on?”

Ari showed what was in her hand. Madame Hooch sighed in relief and motioned to the teachers that the game was over. Professor Dumbledore cast a soronus.

“THE MATCH IS OVER. EVERYBODY REPORT TO THE GREAT HALL FOR HOT CHOCOLATE AND PEPPER UP POTIONS.”

The students didn’t need to be told twice and within ten minutes, everybody was inside. Professor Dumbledore stood up before the students and everybody quieted down.

“The game ended with Ari Potter catching the snitch. Ravenclaw won 170 to 30. Now, everybody enjoy your hot chocolate and stay inside.”

The students didn’t need to be told twice. The Quidditch teams were taken off to the side by Madame Pomfrey and given quick checkovers. While she was being looked at, Ari was startled by somebody coming up behind her.

“Well, nobody can say that you aren’t my sister anymore.”

Ari snapped around and saw Triton standing there smiling at her.

“You’re Triton, right?”

Triton nodded and laughed, “Yes, that has been my name since I was born. Come on. Let’s go talk.”

Triton and Ari made their way out of the Great Hall and into a nearby empty classroom. Triton plopped himself up on one of the desks and smiled at his sister.

“So, how did you enjoy being underwater in the drainage system.”

“It was weird. I mean I knew that I could control water; however, I had never tried to _breathe_ under it.”

Triton outright laughed at this.

“What did you expect? You are a daughter of the sea god. Of course, you are going to be able to breathe underwater.”

At this point, he took a closer look at his sister. She didn’t look to be harmed too much from her dangerous game in the air. However, that didn’t mean that he wanted to see her back up there in this weather again.

“Ari, please, try and stay out of the air as much as possible. Uncle has promised not to harm you when you are playing; however, as we discovered today, with the argument going on between him and dad, nothing is guaranteed.”

Ari nodded. She knew how close she had come to being blasted out of the sky during the game.

“I am glad that you took my advice and are wearing you necklace.”

Ari looked down at her necklace and then up at her brother.

“Why?”

“Why what?” Triton replied with a raised eyebrow.

“Why did you give me the conch necklace? I thought you would be mad that dad cheated on your mom again,” Ari responded while trying to avoid using the names of the gods.

Triton sighed he should have expected this question sooner or later. Probably sooner because of who his sister’s mother was.

“Did you choose who your parents are, Ari?”

“No.”

“Then why should I take dad’s mistakes out on you? Why in the past five plus millenia should I have taken dad’s actions out on any of my siblings mortal or otherwise. I try to judge my half siblings based upon their actions. Thus far, you have proven to be a true daughter of the sea. Yes, at first, I was set upon not caring about you. Can you honestly blame me for that though? I had just found out that dad had cheated on mother again without breaking the oath. However, I quickly got over that and saw you.”

Ari was speechless. She didn’t know what it was like to have an older brother or any sibling for that matter. But, she was starting to think that it wouldn’t be that bad.

“As for the charm, as I said, I care about you. I have tried over the years to help all of my half siblings where I can. Most however, have been too proud to accept the help. I heard how badly you were hurt and just decided to make you the offer. Based on the fact that you have not taken off the necklace, I am guessing that you are accepting the gift.”

Ari nodded, “Yeah, I am not exactly sure when I will need it or even how to use it. But, I am grateful for the gift.”

“You will know how to use it when the time comes. Just know that I will be keeping an eye on you even when you do not ask for help. If their actions are anything to go by, I believe that all the members of the council are going to be keeping at least one eye on you until you reach 18.”

“Why? Why do you guys care? I have been alone since I was one.”

Triton sighed, his sister was still a bit upset about her childhood. And honestly, who could blame her. However, she needed to understand.

“Ari, do you honestly think that any of us would be able to face father or Athena if something were to happen to you? Every time one of his children died father was beyond consolable. I don’t want to see what his reaction to you being harmed would be. Especially considering you were never supposed to be mortal. He would see your death as partially his fault. Do you understand?”

Ari nodded, “Yeah, I think so. How long are you here for?”

“I came long enough to see your game and make sure that you were ok. Truthfully, I wanted to get away from the arguing on Mt. Olympus. Now, how about you walk me out and then head to dinner.”

“Sure.”

Ari led Triton to the main entrance of the castle. She was going to walk him to the gate however he told her she needed to remain inside.

“With the weather like this because of father and uncle, it is best to not make a target of one’s self. Take care, I will see you at your next game.”

Triton walked out into the storm and flashed himself away, and Ari headed to dinner. She had enjoyed being able to talk to her brother. And while it was still awkward, she knew that she would eventually get used to it. After all, if she reached her 18th birthday, she would have all eternity to get used to having an older brother.

The next few months went by relatively peacefully. The Gryffindors beat Hufflepuff in a five minute match up two weeks after the stormy match. The last two matches wouldn’t occur until May and everybody was eagerly anticipating them.

March ended relatively quickly and soon it was only a couple months until the end of the year. The Ravenclaws and Hermione were suddenly very busy making sure to review everything that they had learned thus far and also keep up with their current lessons. None were as busy as Ari though.

Professor Snape had stepped up her training and she was now becoming proficient with a sword and daggers. She was of course no where near an expert, but her matches with Professor Snape were lasting a good ten minutes and she was winning about half of them.

Professor Snape had decided to tempt fate and try out archery. It was better to know how bad she was now and give Chiron a fair warning. Apparently, children of Poseidon were notoriously horrendous at archery. He showed her how to nock an arrow and how to shoot and then he stepped back. He sent a silent prayer to Artemis and Apollo for his safety.

Unknown to Professor Snape, when the twins heard his prayer, they decided to see why he was praying to them for safety. When they brought up the image, they both laughed. A prayer for safety was definitely a necessity when giving a child of Poseidon a bow and arrow. Some of the other gods and goddesses heard the laughing and decided to see what was going on. Together, they watched the lesson unfold.

All were surprised when Ari’s arrow not only flew straight, but it actually hit the edge of the target.

“Well, I guess we know whose talent she got as far as archery is concerned,” Hermes quipped.

“Yeah, I bet Severus is grateful for that too. The poor guy was so nervous he actually sent both of us a prayer for safety, or to at least get away from this lesson alive.”

While the month of March was extremely peaceful, the month of April started off with a bang courtesy of the Weasley twins. Of course, what else was to be expected from twin pranksters whose birthday was on April Fool’s Day. Everybody managed to get past the first day of April relatively unscathed; however, it was a sign of what was to come.

 


End file.
